


The Forbidden Sons I: Blue moon

by Just_Somedude



Series: The Forbidden Sons [1]
Category: The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Kane Chronicles - Rick Riordan
Genre: Artemis - Freeform, Heroes of Olympus, Hunters of Artemis, Kane Chronicles - Freeform, Other, Son of Hestia, Sons of Artemis, percy jackson - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-23
Updated: 2019-10-23
Packaged: 2020-12-28 22:42:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 60,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21144425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Just_Somedude/pseuds/Just_Somedude
Summary: A broken vow, a Crip, and a long kept secret. When Raven finds himself at Camp Half-Blood, things aren't going well. Gods are going missing, and some even think Raven is behind it. A quest is called and Raven is asked to lead, but he doubts himself, and his ability to complete the quest. Bigger forces are at work, and time is running out.





	1. The boy with silver eyes

**Hey guys, what good. Quick little bit about myself, this story, all the way to the first few chapters of the fifth book were written on Fanfiction.net. I liked how the site worked, and it was one of the more popular sites to write on for a little while, but the fandoms kind of died off on there and I started to want to transition over to another site whenever I started getting private messages from those cam girls trying to get you to buy their premium snap and watch them on camera for just 9.99 a minute or whatever. Anyways, everything will still be posted over there as well, but I'm going to post this first book up here and if people like it, I'll transition all of my stories over here. If you are reading this then that means you found me. BTW, if you haven't read my first story, go to wattpad and type percabeth the seven go to good high school and click the one that is written by me. Now, I moved here because I liked the way it was laid out. So, this story is a continuance of the first one. I know the first one kind of sucked, but I needed a kickoff into this one. (BTW, I got an email from someone complaining at me saying that I was a homophobe because this was set after blood of Olympus and Nico admitted to being gay in the house of Hades. Sorry I forgot, I have nothing against gays, I have a gay friend but it's too late for me to change it) anyways I know the first one sucked a little, but this one is going to be much better. I have a legit plan laid out for this story. So ladies and gentleman, I proudly bring to you, The son of the Huntress**

**(A/N I will switch POV's several times throughout each chapter)**

Chapter 1: The boy with silver eyes

Raven:

Let me just start off by saying that I never wanted to be a demigod, I never wanted to be a Crip either. My life wasn't fun, in any way, shape, or form. I sold drugs, killed kids, watched mothers cry while cradling their only son's head in their laps as he bled out on the street, watched little kids get caught between cross fires and end up getting gunned down, I saw my best friend get his arm blown off for a quest we barely knew anything about. Being a demigod isn't fun, it's painful, and it hurts the people closest to you. I would never bring a child into this world knowing they might face what I did. I stared death in the eye countless times, I almost died more times than I could even count. If you think that any of this is something you can handle, be my guest to trade places with me, and I bet almost all of you get killed immediately. Being a demigod or a gang member is one of the hardest things you'll go through in your life, this is the story of the things I did, the things I had to go through, before I finally got my happy ending, but it was more bittersweet than anything.

Annabeth:

"I love you, Wise Girl." Percy said holding me closer to him

"I love you too, Seaweed brain." I sighed, leaning into him

School had been out for a few weeks and Percy and I had spent nearly every single second of it together. Even when Percy went out on a quest to find a demigod that one of the satyrs had tracked down, I insisted upon going. We had not been separated since prom, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

"Annabeth, I need to ask you something." He said, suddenly deadly serious

This worried me, because Percy was never serious, ever. He always messed around, and never did anything the way he was supposed to. Percy solved problems in very unconventional ways, but he got them solved, you couldn't argue that fact. He was a seaweed brain, but he was _my _seaweed brain.

"Sure." I said cautiously

"I've been having these dreams," He began "About a boy, with silver eyes. And he comes to the camp, and then things start to go wrong, the gods go missing, like captured, your mom spoke to me the first time I had the dream, she said something big was happening."

"Like what?" I asked him, confused

"I'm not sure, but she said something about Tartarus helping an old enemy," He said "The fallen king?"

"That sounds like something we should tell Chiron about." I said, stumped

"I already did," Percy said "He said he didn't know, but it really seemed like he was hiding something."

Chiron hid things from us a lot. Mostly because he was sworn to the river styx not to tell us. It got on my nerves sometimes. But this time, I had this feeling that maybe we didn't actually want to know what any of this meant.

"I don't know." I said "I hate not knowing things."

"I don't know either," He said, shaking his head "But, I'm sure we'll figure it out, and we'll kick some mythological monster's ass and save the universe like we always do."

That made me laugh. Percy had a point, we had saved Olympus four times now. The time we retrieved Zeus's master bolt so that the Olympians wouldn't go into a full all out war, and the time that we saved Artemis and the Orophiotaurus from the Titans, and the time we faced down the army of Kronos in the middle of Manhattan with only forty demigods, and, finally, and the most recent, the time we stopped Gaea and her bloodthirsty giants from destroying the world as we knew it. Yep all in all, a normal day for a demigod.

"Well, don't worry about it, I would rather not be part of another great prophecy thank you very much." I said, folding my arms and huffing

Now it was Percy's turn to laugh. I loved his laugh, it made me feel warm inside, like everything was going to be alright, no matter how bad the situation seemed, which usually is what my life felt like pretty much all the time.

"Is that Gwen and Nico?" Percy said suddenly, eyeing off in the distance

Gwen was Nico's girlfriend. We had found Gwen when we had gone to Goode and she had turned out to be a daughter of Athena. Well, actually, it was Nico that found her. He brought her to our lunch table. She was really beautiful, and we all gave Nico a hard time because we knew that he liked her. Eventually, he asked her to the prom, and she accepted. I watched across the gym as they kissed. It was really cute, and I was happy for Nico too, he was always depressed and sad and lonely. Ever since Gwen, well he was much happier. Even from this distance I could see the smile on his face as they approached hand in hand.

"Hey, how's it going.?" Gwen asked as she drew closer

"It's going." Percy said

"Oh come on Perce," Nico said, elbowing him "Lighten up, it's a sunny day and everything ain't so bad."

"There's the annoying little Nico we all know and love," Percy said, standing "Still playing with Mythomagic cards?

"Right, well, the reason we came down here," Gwen said cutting Nico off as he was about to make a, no doubt smartass, reply "Chiron called a meeting in the big house. Every single camp counselor is required to come, Clovis even dragged his lazy ass out of bed for this."

Clovis was the head counselor for the Hypnos cabin, the god of sleep. And that's all his children did, sleep. It made it hard for them to get anything done, especially when they needed to get up and do it, but they were like the stoners of Greek mythology.

"Well, we had better not keep him waiting then." I said, rising

We made out way up towards the big house, all four of us wondering what this could be about. I knew there was no way it could be good, not the way Nico was talking. I wasn't very keen on the idea of getting sucked into another prophecy.

"Any idea what this could be about?" Percy asked Nico

"Not a clue, but he looked pretty shaken up, so whatever it is, it can't be good." Nico said grimly

"Is it ever?" Percy said, exasperated

He had a point, I couldn't even remember what it was like to get good news. Of course, usually demigods took the least of the bad news and called that the good news. I guess you could call it looking at the glass half full.

"Well, like I said, I don't know, it could be anything, maybe I just read him wrong." Nico said, but he didn't sound to sure

"You'll have to tell me what it's about seeing as I'm not a counselor so therefor not invited." Gwen said, giving Nico a quick kiss before walking off

We entered the big house and all eyes immediately turned to us. I could tell there had been a very heated argument moments before, as Katie Gardner was in a very deadly looking standoff with Drew Tanaka. The two of them sat down very slowly, but didn't take their eyes off of eachother.

"Ah, glad you could join us, we were just about to start." Chiron said from the front of the ping pong table.

He was compacted into his wheelchair and he looked worried. There was a tension in the air, as if he had started to reveal some bad news and then stopped suddenly. Everybody was fidgeting and shifting as Percy and I took our seats next to Jason and Piper.

"Now, I am not going to beat around the bush," He began " I'm not going to sugarcoat it, but we are in deep, deep trouble. Something of the likes that I have never witnessed, nor cared to witness. We are- "

"Chiron," I interrupted "You're beating around the bush."

"So I am," He sighed "Well then straight to it, one of the gods has been kidnapped."

There was immediate murmuring and a buzz that filled the room. Chiron called for quiet but it was useless. He might as well have tried to stop fish from swimming. It probably would've yielded better results

"What did he just say?" Piper said from behind me

"A god has been captured." I said still in disbelief

"Right, just checking to make sure I heard that right." Piper said, paling

When it had finally settled down, Chiron cleared his throat again. It had taken a few minutes but everybody eventually realized they would like to know who it was that had been taken, and they quieted down so that Chiron could speak.

"The god, in question, or rather goddess," He began "Is the wisdom goddess, Athena."

All eyes in the room turned to look at me.

Amber:

"And then, we ran along the sides until we had him cornered, we kept pushing him back until he was forced to retreat into the ocean," Thalia said "Then he just left

"That's amazing," One of the newer girls said "That must've take a lot of guts to keep going after what he did."

"He killed a lot of hunters, and I mean a lot of hunters. The numbers sitting around this campfire, there was at least double this before,"Thalia said "Orion killed nearly all of the hunters, by the time we pushed him back into the sea, we had a handful of hunters, maybe fifteen or sixteen."

I wasn't really paying attention, I'd been there and I didn't need to hear the story and relive it. I'd seen quite a few things in my time as a Hunter, but nothing quite compared to watching one your sisters get decapitated right in front of you.

Sorry, maybe I should tell you just a little bit about myself. My name is Amber Adela. I am seventeen, or was. I don't know if you still have an age when you become immortal. I still felt seventeen, but I knew in three thousand years or so, I would still feel the same. I had joined the Hunters of Artemis years ago, nineteen eighty three actually. I'd been recruited by Zoe Nightshade only a week after arriving at Camp Half-Blood, best decision I ever made. I'd been claimed as a child of Aphrodite and spent a single night in her cabin before Lady Artemis had come through the camp looking to recruit new Hunters, I was the first to sign up.

"Amber, Annie, Maya!" Thalia called "Follow me!"

I rose from my spot by the fire and followed Thalia to the back of the camp where Lady Artemis' tent was. She sat inside, one of the wolves lying beside her with it's head in her lap. She indicated for the four of us to sit down, clearly weighed down by something.

"Thalia," She nodded "You may begin."

"Thank you, milady," Thalia said, turning to face us "You three are the most trusted of our Hunters, we have an issue."

"What sort of issue?" Maya asked

"Something took Athena," Lady Artemis said "We don't know what, but anything that can capture a goddess is something to be concerned with."

"Athena?" Annie asked, shocked "Do we know why?"

"Nothing," Lady Artemis said "Hestia noticed she had been gone for a while and went searching. When she arrived at Athena's temple, there was ichor splattered all over the place and no sign of her."

"What could this mean?" I asked "Another great prophecy?"

"Gods, I hope not," Thalia moaned "I really hope not."

I noticed that Lady Artemis was quiet, not saying anything. She seemed as though she had something she wanted to say but wasn't exactly sure how to put in to words. I had seen Lady Artemis like this a handful of times. Once, long ago back in the late nineties after a brief period of constant solo hunting, when Zoe had been killed, and now.

"Lady?" I asked cautiously "What are you not telling us?"

"Amber if I knew anything I would share it," She lied "For the time being, we must find our answers, and I think I may know where to start."

"Then we'll dismantle the camp and get ready," Thalia said "Amber go make sure-"

"No," Lady Artemis cut her off "I'm going to go see Apollo, see if he can shed some light on this whole thing. In the meantime, I want you to go to Camp Half-Blood."

"What?" Thalia demanded "Why?"

"I need you to collect something for me." She told her

"What sort of something?" Annie asked

"You'll know," Lady Artemis told her "After you've found it, contact me."

"I'm sorry," Thalia interjected angrily "But a goddess was just captured, and you want to go run off and talk to Apollo while we wait at camp to run some stupid errand?"

"Don't question me, Thalia," She said, raising her voice to match Thalia's "It'll all make sense very soon, but I am giving you a direct order."

Thalia bit back a scathing reply, very clearly straining with the effort. I'll admit Lady Artemis could be frustrating at times, I was especially at a loss when Zoe had died and she simply recruited another Lieutenant rather than one of those who had been with her for a long time, but she had never been wrong before. Thalia was a great leader and a good friend, I was happy to serve under her.

"As you wish," Thalia said, gritting her teeth "Milady."

"Girls," Lady Artemis said, nodding to us "Go and get some rest, everybody needs to be ready to go tomorrow morning, Thalia and I have a few things to discuss."

Percy:

After the meeting, I tried to head back to my cabin and sleep, but I couldn't. I kept tossing and turning. What could be so powerful enough to capture a goddess? I looked at my hand. Maybe it was time to call a friend. No, not yet. Not this way. But maybe….. I grabbed a drachma off of my nightstand and walked over to the fountain in the corner of my room. A gift from my father to replace the one I cut in half. I threw it into the stream and spoke.

"Oh Iris, goddess of the rainbow accept my offering." I said

The fountain began to glow.

"Show me Carter Kane in Brooklyn." I said

The image began to appear. Carter was sitting on a roof, with a girl, laughing. She was cute, black hair and a tan. They appeared to not notice me at first and I started to wonder if maybe I should come back later.

"Zia," Carter said "I have something I want to tell you."

"What is it?" The girl, who I assumed to be Zia, asked

"I-" Carter stopped, seeing me out of the corner of his eye "Percy? How did you get here?"

"Yeah bro, great to see you too," I mumbled "I'm not actually here, it's just an Iris Message, but I can check back later, looks like your busy."

"Uh, no it's fine" He said

"Carter who is this?" Zia asked with wide eyed

"Ah, shit, ummmmm," Carter stammered "Perce, help me out here."

"Nah man, you're doing fine, you got this." I said, grinning

"Just help me out you dick." Carter said, not returning my grin

So we told the story of how we met, and what we did. Then he tried explaining to his angry girlfriend why he hid this from her. She gave him a stern look that would've made me run for the hills, but Carter stayed his ground and told the story.

"Sadie got on me for not telling her about you, apparently her and some girl named Annabeth met up," He said "Had a pretty similar story to your's, I talked her into keeping it a secret."

"Annabeth never told me about that." I said

"Wait, so you do know Annabeth." He said

"Yeah, she's my girlfriend." I told, him rolling my eyes

"Of course she is," Carter said "So why exactly did you ummmm Iris Message me?"

"Well it's kind of a long story, and I was hoping that you could help me figure it out." I told him

"Fire away." He said

And so I told him about my dream. I told him about everything. Carter seemed to understand that dreams for demigods were not just dreams. In fact, not only did he understand it, it seemed like he went through the same stuff. When I got to the part about Athena missing, he stopped me.

"Sadie said she felt a disturbance a few days ago, and she went to investigate, she never came back," He said "Do you think maybe whoever kidnapped that goddess is behind it all?"

"That's exactly what I think" I said

"Well, we need to get to the bottom of this quickly," He said "I'll work on my end and you work on your's, when you've got something to share, hit me up on this thing again."

"Got it, and what if you need to get ahold of me?" I asked

"I've got my own ways." He said

"PERCY COME QUICK," My friend Grover's voice sounded from outside as he banged on my door "THERE IS A DEMIGOD COMING ACROSS THE PROPERTY LINE AND HE'S GOT A MANTICORE HOT ON HIS HEELS"

"I have to go, Carter," I said "Happy hunting"

"You too." He said

I swept my hand through the image and disconnected it. I ripped opened the door and found Grover panting. He looked as if he was about ready to drop dead of exhaustion, but he inhaled several deep breaths and steadied himself.

"What's happening?" I demanded

"Demigod….Manticore." He said gasping for air

I grabbed Riptide off of my dresser and made a dash for the door. I followed Grover across the camp. When we arrived at the hill I saw an unarmed demigod facing down a Manticore. He was wearing a pair of sagging jeans, a black All for Glory shirt, a pair of white and blue Jordans, and a blue, flat-billed snapback with white lettering on it covering his shaggy, auburn hair. It had the same font used on the old Compton hats but my dyslexia was killing me trying to read it, but I could've sworn it said something like Crooklyn. As I drew closer, I realized he wasn't unarmed, he held a Ruger in his left hand. He had long, shaggy, hair and a wicked scar running through his left eye, making him look very intimidating, even against a Manticore.

"KID, BACK DOWN THAT THINGS GONNA KILL YOU!" I yelled at him

The Manitcore snarled and, in response, the kid raised his gun and fired. The shot hit the Manticore in the chest, and it would've been a kill if he had celestial bronze bullets. He seemed shocked that the Manticore hadn't dropped dead. And so he fired two more shots. Again, they went straight through him. The kid tucked the gun back into his waistband and now began backing away, but very slowly.

"MOVE IDIOT!" One of the other demigods yelled

The Manticore's spiky tail flicked out and a spike flew at the kid and struck him in the stomach. He cried out in pain and sank to his knees, leaving him wide open to an attack from the Manticore. Nobody was actually close enough to help him, and he'd be dead if we didn't get close enough soon.

"SOMEBODY GET UP THERE!" I said, running forward

The Manticore's tail flicked out again, looking for a killing blow. Then, the kid did something that earned him my permanent respect. He lurched to the side, and grabbed the Manticore's tail just above the spiked tip, and ripped the spike out of his stomach. It ripped it's tail back, flinging the kid through the air. He let go of his tail and came down, right on top of the Manticore, and drove the spike into it's neck. Everybody rushed forward at once the second the Manticore began to dissolve, screaming in pain as he did so.

"Oh shit." The kid coughed, spitting up blood

Then he fell and passed out, blood gushing from the open wound in his stomach. By now, Annabeth had arrived and I moved in to help her. I grabbed the kid's arm and Annabeth grabbed his other arm, and we began to drag him. As we moved him, his eyes flickered for a minute and I saw his eyes, and then I dropped him in shock.

"Percy, don't just stand there help me," Annabeth screamed "What's wrong with you?"

"His eyes, Annabeth did you see his eyes?" I asked, panicking

"No, what about them?" She demanded

"His eyes were silver."

**Sorry about the cliff hanger but this is kinda long. Plus it's really later where I live. Also it's a school night. Also I am combining the Kane chronicles and The Percy Jackson series into this one. I have read the son of Sobek but I haven't read the Staff of Serapis. So sorry if some stuff from that is a little bit off. Until next time dear friends**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIONS OR THE KANE CHRONICLES OR THE HEROES OF OLYMPUS**


	2. The broken oath

**Howdy yall. Welcome back. This is chapter two of The Son Of The Huntress. Please review and let me know how you like this chapter vs the first chapter. I'm just gonna jump right into this because there isn't really much that I can say. So here is chapter two ya'll.**

Chapter 2: The broken oath

Raven:

My head hurt when I finally came to. I opened my eyes slowly, trying to remember where I was. Everything started to come back slowly, the deal, everything went wrong, I left Flat Junction, then I bumped into some french dude, then he attacked me and I ran. I remembered running into the woods and then I came into this clearing with all these kids with weapons and armor, and then here I am. I pushed myself into a sitting position and looked over to my side. My hat, flag, and gun were sitting on the nightstand next to me. I grabbed them and then stood out of the bed, grimacing as I did so.

"Ahh my head." I groaned, grabbing my skull

I started forward but I stumbled into a table, knocking it into a bed. I looked around and realized I was in an infirmary, surrounded by a bunch of wounded kids. The one nearest to me was a blonde haired kid with an orange t -shirt with a pegasus on it and the words Camp Half -Blood written above it. There weren't any doctors or anything around which confused me, but my burning curiosity about where I was overtook my want to look around at the scenery of where I was. I kept walking, using the wall as a support until I finally made it to the door, where there was three people waiting for me. Two guys, one in a wheelchair with thinning, brown hair and a tweed jacket, and another guy with black hair. And then there was a girl, with grey eyes and blonde hair, all of them were wearing those orange shirts.

"Ah, the new demigod," The wheelchair guy said "I must say I didn't think you'd be up and moving this soon."

"Chiron," The guy with black hair and green eyes said "Shouldn't he be in bed? He took it pretty bad last night."

"I'm fine," I said, my voice sounding raspy "I'm not in much pain. Where am I?"

"You're at a place called Camp Half -Blood," The girl said "It's the only safe place for people like us."

"People like us?" I asked

"Yeah," The guy said "You see, we're demigods."

"What he means to say," Chiron said "Is that you are the child of a human and a god, a Greek god to be exact."

"A what now?" I asked in complete disbelief

"I bet you have ADHD and dyslexia," The guy said "Am I right?"

"Yeah, ADHD and dyslexia," I said "But what does that have to do with anything."

Nobody answered, so I resorted to what I knew best. I pulled my shirt up to reveal my gun tucked into my waistband and narrowed my eyes, making my message clear before I even opened my mouth to say something.

"If somebody don't give me a straight answer," I growled "I promise I'll catch a body, I'm serious."

"I told you we shouldn't have left that alone." The guy muttered

"Percy," The girl said in a warning tone "Look, one of your parents was a Greek god, this camp is the safest place, besides Camp Jupiter and Olympus itself of course, for people like us."

"You guys are all crazy," I said "All three of you."

"Why don't you tell us your name," Chiron said "I'm Chiron, this is Annabeth Chase and Percy Jackson."

I'm not sure why, but I got the feeling he wasn't really asking me. He was telling me he wanted to know my name, and he wouldn't be taking no for an answer. Normally I don't do to well with authority but I got the weird sense I could trust this guy, even if I'd only known him for a few minutes. He'd told me his name, the least I could to was give him mine.

"Raven Alistair." I said finally

"A very unique name if I do say so myself," Chiron said "Might I ask how you got the name?"

I turned around and pulled my shirt off, revealing a raven shaped brand mark on my left shoulder. I didn't know where it had come from, and even my dad had never been able to tell me. Not that it mattered, he was a sick fucked up bastard. He probably wouldn't have given me a real answer anyways, he would've lied like he did about everything else.

"Well, that is an odd mark isn't it?" Chiron asked "How did you get it?"

"I don't know." Was all I said

"Can you tell me which one of your parents was mortal?" He asked

"Both of them," I said "They're both dead."

"What do you mean both dead?" Percy asked "They can't be, you're clearly a demigod, you got through the barrier."

"I never knew my mom," I told them "When I was five, my dad was arrested and charged with the murder of my mother. He was convicted and went to jail, then he hung himself when I was eight."

"Your father couldn't have killed your mother," Chiron said "If you knew your father, that means the god in your family is on the maternal side, and gods can't die."

"Oh yeah?" I asked, my temper rising "What makes you so sure of that? You ever meet my mom? Ever met my dad?"

"Calm yourself," Chiron said "I meant no offense to you Raven, I am simply attempting to solve the riddle. Why don't you tell us the rest of your story. Where are you from?"

"How about you tell me more about yourselves first." I countered

Chiron sighed and backed his wheelchair up a little bit. Sensing he was doing something, Annabeth and Percy backed up a little bit. Chiron pushed himself up as though he was going to get out of his wheelchair, but that would be impossible. But of course, this was only the beginning of impossibilities that turned out to be not so impossible. Chiron rose from the wheelchair, and got very tall very fast. At first I thought he was wearing white pants, but then I realized that those were his legs, then I realized there was more. When he finally rose, I was standing in front of a centaur.

"Well," He said with a small smile "If you know anything about Greek mythology, then you might've guessed who I am."

"Chiron," I said, remembering what little I had actually caught in school "You trained heroes. But shouldn't you be dead?"

"As long as I'm still needed, I won't die," He shrugged "Now I do believe you were going to tell me about yourself?"

"I'm from Brooklyn," I said, resigning "My dad got arrested when I was five, and I became a ward of the state. The manager to our building adopted me as a favor to my dad I guess, he let me live in dad's old apartment until I was ten, and he introduced me to the Flat Junction Crips, then I started selling drugs, doing hits, and all that helped me pay the rent."

"So you're a gang member?" Percy asked me

"Yeah," I said "A little while ago, a drug deal went wrong, two of my friends got killed and I left Flat Junction. I bumped into this shady looking french guy and he turned into whatever the fuck that thing that attacked me last night was. I ran until I got into the woods, then I just kept going, found myself here."

"Wait a second," Percy said "You left a gang? You can do that?"

"I've got so much damn credit in Brooklyn the boss was willing to let me leave. I'm not built for that shit anymore," I said "I just didn't want to be the next guy going out in a box."

"Well, regardless of why you left or who let you leave," Chiron said "You're here now and we should get you settled in."

"Hang on," I said "Who said I was staying?"

"Where else do you have to go?" Annabeth asked me "You can't just run around, now that you know, monsters will hunt you even more."

"Damn," I muttered "I hate logic."

"Then it's settled," Chiron said, clapping his hands "Percy, I would like you to show Mr. Alistair to the Hermes cabin. Annabeth and I need to talk."

"Yeah, I got it," Percy grumbled "Come on Raven, I'll show you to your new home."

Percy:

"First things first," I said as we walked down the path into the cabin area "Let's get you into a new shirt, that one is a bit torn up."

"Stupid monster owes me a new shirt," Raven grumped "This is my favorite shirt."

I laughed and entered the Poseidon cabin, with Raven close behind me. He stood in the doorway while I dug through my drawers. I finally found a plain white shirt and tossed it to him. He took off his torn shirt and threw it in the trash can, and then pulled on the shirt I gave him. I noticed another mark on his arm, a scar, FJC cut right into his left bicep.

"So where'd you get those scars?" I ventured

He touched the one on his eye gingerly as though it still pained him. He looked a bit angry and I almost regretted asking, but his face went back to the poker face he'd had since he woke up and he cleared his throat.

"I got into a scrap with some Bloods about a year or so ago," He said "One of them had a blade, caught me in the eye. And the one on my arm was just to mark me for the FJC."

"Can you see?" I asked him

"Yeah, they only cut deep enough to leave a scar," He shrugged "Didn't damage my eyesight or anything."

"You ever get any comments on your eyes?" I asked him "What with them being silver and all?"

"Yeah, nobody was ever able to figure it out," He said "Dad just told me I was unique."

I shrugged and left the cabin, with him behind me. We walked up the path and I watched him take everything in, analyzing every single face and detail of the camp. He looked amazed at nearly everything he saw, especially the Aphrodite girls.

"Stay clear of most of them," I warned him "A few are alright, but most can be pretty vengeful."

"Vengeful how?" He asked

"Trust me," I told him "You don't want to know."

We kept walking and passed the forges where I saw Leo and a few other kids hard at work on some sort of giant metal thing. I knew, with Leo at least, it was just better not to ask about those types of things, because nine times out of ten, you really didn't want to know that answer either.

"So did you ummm, feel anything in my cabin?" I asked him

"What do you mean?" He asked me

"The first time I even walked into the Poseidon cabin I got this strange feeling," I explained "Like the sea calling to me or something."

"No," He said "Didn't feel anything like that."

"Well tell me the things you're good at," I told him "We might be able to figure out who your parent is."

"Well, I'm a crack shot," He said, shrugging "I can grow weed pretty well, I'm a fast runner and an alright swimmer, I'm pretty damn good at parkour."

"Anything else?" I asked, not sure what to make of that

"I've always liked being in the woods," He said "Before Dad got arrested, we used to take trips to this little cabin a friend of his owned. We'd go fishing and hunting and all that."

"Well, maybe you're a child of Hermes, jack of all trades and such." I said, remembering what Luke had said to me

A thought had started to form in my head, but I dismissed it. It wasn't possible, never would be and never could be. But what if it was? I wondered why Raven hadn't been claimed years ago and why he was just now coming to camp, but obviously something was getting ready to go down, there was no way his coming wasn't a sign, no matter who his real mother was.

"I'm still not sure that I believe all of this." Raven said

"Well then watch this." I said, grinning

I reached my hand out towards the fountain and concentrated, feeling the familiar tugging sensation in my gut. The water rose from it in a giant arc and spun into the air, then splashed back down into the fountain. Raven's face hadn't changed but I could see in his eyes that I had at least peaked his interest.

"Son of Poseidon," I said "Power over water."

"Really?" He asked "I'll admit, that's actually pretty cool. Mind if I ask you something that might sound a little bit demented?"

"Shoot." I said, wondering what he was thinking

"You ever try controlling a person?" He asked me "Humans have blood in them, that's water right?"

"I haven't actually ever tried that," I said "Now that you say it, I really don't want to though."

"Told you it was fucked up." He said, shrugging

We kept walking and I found myself even more curious about who this kid was. Who was his mother?

Raven:

I had been at Camp Half Blood for almost a week, not once hint from my mother, whoever she was. I wanted to find out who she was so bad, because somebody had been responsible for everything that had happened to me, I wanted to know who. A group of girls everybody had called the hunters of Artemis had shown up that morning with no explanation, just unexplained orders from Artemis, at least that's what I had heard. But rumors were circulating that they had been sent here to wait for somebody, somebody very important to their mistress. They kept mostly to themselves, shooting in the archery range or shooting hateful glances at any guy who got close to them. I had almost gotten mugged by ten of them when I asked a girl with blonde hair and blue eyes if she had seen Chiron, I wasn't eager to be the one to say I got beat up by a bunch of girls.

"Are you alright?" Annabeth asked me

"Yeah, just some shit on my mind." I said

Annabeth had come to get me from the Hermes cabin to talk. I knew she was put up to it by Chiron, seeing as I didn't talk to many people. I had spoken to Percy a few times, and a guy named Jason and a kid named Leo, but other than that I didn't talk to people. We were walking through the cabin area while Annabeth tried to make friends with me, but I knew she was getting frustrated with me.

"Raven listen to me," Annabeth said, stopping in front of one of the cabins "You need to understand that even though you don't feel like you belong here, everyone here just wants to help you."

"Give me some time to adjust," I told her "I just need to think."

"Raven the only person you even talked to besides Percy and Jason was Leo," She said "And that was only to get some celestial bronze bullets."

"Well I can't kill a monster with a regular bullet." I said, shrugging

Before she could say anything, I felt something. It felt like a voice calling me, from the cabin next to me. I turned around and looked at it. It was an old cabin, with a crescent moon painted on the doorframe. I walked inside without a second though, and the feeling got even stronger.

"Raven, what are you doing?" Annabeth hissed from behind me "Get out of there."

"Why?" I asked, almost in a daze

"Because if the hunters catch you in there, you're a dead man." She said

"I felt something," I said "But it's gone."

"Raven, you're not a child of Artemis," Annabeth said "Get that out of your head."

"Why couldn't I be?" I asked her

"Because she's a maiden goddess," Annabeth said "She's under an oath to never have kids, she swore off men, she's an eternal virgin. What did you feel anyways?"

"Just, a presence," I explained "Calling to me."

"It's just your imagination," She said "You're searching so hard for a sign that you'll latch onto anything you feel."

I turned away and left the cabin, figuring she was right. Maybe I was just looking so hard I mistook anything for a sign. But I knew this meant something, and I intended to figure out what. I heard a horn echo throughout the camp and I knew what that meant, time for the campfire. Annabeth and I began walking and neither of us said a word all the way there. When we finally got to the amphitheater, nearly the entire camp was there.

"I'll see you later," Annabeth said "I'm gonna go sit with Percy."

I nodded and she walked away, I sat down in a spot that was relatively empty of demigods. I just didn't feel like talking to anybody. It didn't last long though, because almost instantly, a group of girls sat down all around me, smiling and giggling.

"Are you the new kid?" One of them asked "The undetermined one?"

"I guess so." I said, not looking at her

"Well my name is Drew Tanaka," She said "Daughter of Aphrodite."

"Raven Alistair." I said, still not looking

She moved to sit down beside me, forcing me to look. She was pretty, but like major thot pretty. Like she tried really hard to be pretty, and it worked to a point. Her eyes had a little bit of a hypnotic quality to them, and it made me look away to avoid looking her directly in the eye.

"Your eyes are so captivating." Drew breathed seductively

I turned to look at her and made the mistake of eye contact. I couldn't look away, it was almost like a trainwreck. I wanted to turn away so bad, but at the same time I never wanted to stop looking at her. I found myself wondering if I looked alright, which was total bullshit because I don't give a fuck. Suddenly, somebody grabbed me from behind and pulled me to my feet, tearing my focus from Drew's gaze and bringing me back to reality.

"There you are," A girl's voice said "I thought you said you were gonna sit with us."

The girl dragged me away and sat me down about twenty or so feet away from Drew. I looked around and realized the girl was a hunter, and I was surrounded by hunters. They all turned to look at me, some with curious faces, some with hate.

"You okay?" The girl asked me "I know charmspeak when I see it, I'm a daughter of Aphrodite too."

"Yeah I'm fine," I said "That was just weird. Ummm, thanks."

"No problem," She said, smiling "The name is Amber Adela by the way."

"Raven Alistair." I said "Son of...well, I don't know yet."

The girl was beautiful. I've never been a guy to say that very often but this girl made me stop and stare. She had long, brown hair and brown eyes, and she was slightly shorter than me. Another girl with spiky hair and electric blue eyes sat down beside us.

"Why did you bring him over here?" The girl asked

"That girl." Amber said, nodding at Drew

"Ahh, say no more," The girl said "I'm Thalia by the way, Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus."

"Can I have your attention please!" Chiron called, making us all turn

He was standing, in horse form, in the center of the amphitheater. Everyone had turned up, demigods, nature spirits, and hunters, to celebrate whatever the hell it is they celebrated out here. I hadn't really taken part in the camp's activities since I had shown up. I barely even showed up to whatever classes I had been assigned to.

"We'd like to welcome the hunters to our camp," He said "And congratulate Mr. Alistair on being the first male in history to sit near them and not be turned into a jackalope."

This was met with a collective chuckle from a lot of the campers, and a few from the hunters. I didn't know what he was talking about but apparently everybody else did because they all found it funny. Chiron waited for everybody to calm down before he continued with his speech.

"We also have news regarding the gods," He said "Our very own Dionysus went missing earlier this afternoon."

"I'm sure Mr. D misses us ever so dearly." Percy called out

This was met with laughter from all the campers. I didn't know a whole lot about being a demigod yet, but I did know that something kidnapping gods was no laughing matter. But everyone tried to keep a sense of humor about everything, to keep the depression of reality from setting in. Chiron started talking again but I had lost interest and was now playing with a leaf. I started tearing it into bits and playing with the shards and it was a few moments before I noticed everybody was staring at me.

"What?" I asked, looking up

Nobody answered me.

"What?" I asked again

"Raven." Amber said gently, pointing above my head

I looked up at almost had a damn heart attack. Above my head was a glowing crescent moon, almost like a hologram. I stared at it, completely mesmerized, for a moment.

"The fuck is that?" I asked, swatting at it "What the hell?"

I stood up to try and hit it but it only moved with me. I looked around and noticed Chiron had kneeled, and everybody else was following his example. The demigods, nature spirits, even the hunters, although some looked a bit reluctant to be doing so. Soon, I was surrounded by thousands of kneeling figures. Everybody looked absolutely shell shocked at what they were seeing, even the hunters that knelt still stared, open mouthed at where the symbol had been above my head.

"It appears, your Olympian parent has been revealed, the goddess of the hunt, the lady of the moonlight," Chiron stammered in pure disbelief, his eyes still wide at the impossibility of it "Ha-ha-hail Raven Alistair, son of Artemis."

**Alright, even though you guys most likely saw that coming, I'm just gonna say it. PLOT TWIST! PLEASE REVIEW!**


	3. Born to die, Bred to live

**Hey guys. welcome to the third chapter. I've been going late into the night for the past few days. Good news though, by the time you read this, I'll be on Christmas break, so I've got that to look forward to. Well, I should shut up so yall can read.**

Chapter 3: Born to die, Bred to live

Raven:

That night, I was moved into the Artemis cabin. Immediately after the campfire, during which I had to endure stares from the entire camp, Chiron told me to get my stuff from the Hermes cabin, then he took me to the Artemis cabin. It looked the same as it had earlier, except this time it was filled with hunters. Some of them looked at me with pity, but most had looks of hate and distaste on their faces.

"Thalia," Chiron said "A word please?"

Thalia rose from her bed and crossed the room to where Chiron and I stood. He motioned us both out the door and we walked a good few feet away from the cabin, out of earshot of any eavesdropping hunters, before he spoke.

"Thalia," Chiron said "I know the hunters despise men, but it appears, for the moment at least, Raven is a son of Artemis."

"And you want me to look after him?" Thalia guessed "And make sure he doesn't get into too much trouble with the hunt?"

"Yes," Chiron said "And with that, I think I will retire, it's been a long day. Raven, first thing tomorrow morning I want you to come find me, I have something for you."

"So," Thalia began as Chiron walked away "How well do you do with authority?"

"Very poorly." I said

"You and I will be getting along just fine." Thalia said, grinning

We walked back into the cabin and immediately the hunters began asking questions. Thalia waved them off and walked me to one of the empty bunk beds in the back, which I sat down on and dropped my backpack. Once I was settled in, they all started asking questions again.

"Is he really Lady Artemis's son?" One asked

"Isn't she supposed to be a maiden?" Another asked

"Everybody calm down!" Thalia called "Raven will be staying in here with us until we figure things out. That's final!"

"But he's a _male_!" One of them shouted indignantly

"Yeah, and I'm also _right here_." I muttered

"I could believe it," Amber said, appearing right next to me "Look at his eyes."

The rest of the hunt leaned in close to look at my eyes, trying to see what she was saying. Thalia had to wave some of them back as I probably looked like I was about to roundhouse kick somebody, it's certainly what I felt like doing.

"And now that you say it," Another girl said "He's got some of her features."

"Yeah," Another called out "Look at his nose, and his ears."

"He's still a _male_!" The same hunter from earlier yelled out

"I'm still _right here_." I muttered again

"Listen!" Thalia said, shooting the girl a glance "He might be a male, but he's our male now apparently, and he's staying here until Lady Artemis or Chiron says otherwise."

"Yeah, about that," I said "Saying I'm your male, really makes me sound like a pet, which is totally not fine with me."

"You know what I meant," Thalia said "He stays for now, and if anybody has a problem with it, you can take it up with me right here, right now."

Nobody said a word, and Thalia walked back over to her bunk, the rest of the hunt following her lead. Chiron had been right about one thing, it had been a long day. I was angry at Artemis, but I was too tired to care. I figured I'd meet her sometime in the next few days, and I could be angry at her then, for now I needed sleep. My head hit the pillow and I was gone instantly, and that night, I had a dreamless sleep.

Thalia:

I woke up the next morning to a familiar smell, something I couldn't quite place but knew very well. I pushed myself out of bed and looked around, trying to find out what it was. The first thing I noticed was that Raven's bed was empty, and he was nowhere to be found. I rolled out of bed and pulled on a silver hoodie and my shoes and walked to the door. Raven was sitting on the bench directly outside the cabin, wearing nothing but a pair of white basketball shorts sagging around plaid boxers, smoking a cigarette. Then I realized it wasn't a cigarette, and then I knew what the smell was.

"So how high are you?" I asked him, sitting down

"No," He said slowly "It's hi how are you."

"Okay that's good," I said, laughing "But seriously, you need to function today please."

"Why?" He asked

"Because you're a demigod," I told him "You need to function everyday."

"I can function like this." He said

"Can you really though?" I asked him, raising my eyebrow

"Yeah," He said "I'm super retarded at times, but I'll be alright."

I shrugged, figuring this wasn't an argument I would be winning. We sat in silence for a moment after he had finished the joint and now sat staring at the landscape in front of us, completely mesmerized. I wondered what he was thinking about, but decided I probably didn't want to know.

"When are you gonna go see Chiron?" I asked him

"Whenever I feel like moving," He said, shrugging "I'm super hungry though."

"See I fail to see how you're functioning," I told him "If you're hungry, you're not focused."

"Is that like, permission to go get food?" He asked

"Were you asking permission?" I asked him

"Nah," He shrugged "I was just letting you know I was hungry."

"Well breakfast should be soon." I told him

"What's my mother like?" He asked suddenly

"What?" I asked, caught off guard

"What's my mother like?" He repeated

I had to think about that answer. Artemis was a very complicated person, or god, whatever. I sat for a few moment, pondering my answer, deciding the best way to word this. I knew Raven probably resented her, most demigods did, but it didn't stop him from being curious.

"Well, she's tough," I began "But she's also compassionate. She's a natural born leader and a fantastic huntress."

"Do you think I'll ever meet her?" Raven asked

"Do you want to?" I asked him

"Yes and no," He sighed "I'm not sure. Yeah, I'm angry at her for everything that's happened sure, but I just...don't know."

"I'm sure you'll meet her," I told him "You're the first ever son of Artemis, obviously she's going to want to see you."

"What's gonna happen to me?" He asked "I'm not even supposed to be alive."

"No you're not," I agreed "But neither was I, or Jason, or Percy, or Nico, you'll be fine."

But even as I said it, I wasn't so sure that he would be. Sure, Jason, Percy, Nico, and I weren't supposed to be alive but Raven was so much more different. Artemis was never supposed to have kids, ever. She had made an oath to never have kids, and she was expected to keep it.

"Go and see Chiron," I told him "Find out what it is he wants."

"I'm too high to deal with more bullshit right now." He sighed

"Just go," I laughed, shoving him "Before I drag you, male."

He rolled his eyes and walked back into the cabin. I heard him rummaging through something inside and a few minutes later he came out wearing a white t shirt a pair of Jordans. He waved to me as he walked by and continued down the path into the camp to find Chiron. I got up and walked back into the cabin, preparing for what I knew was going to be a very long day.

Raven:

It didn't take me long to find Chiron. He wasn't far from the Artemis cabin, in fact, he seemed like he was on his way to come and get me himself. I bumped into him before I even got all the way down the path, as he was walking.

"Ahh Raven," He said "Excellent."

"Were you expecting anybody else?" I asked him "You told me to come and find you."

"So I did," He said "Follow me, I have something for you."

It was only a few minutes before we reached a big, old farmhouse. What little of the inside I could see just looked like a regular living room, with a couch, rug, and a fireplace, but I knew there was probably a lot more to this house than meets the eye.

"I want you to go inside," Chiron said "And in the back, where my office is, and inside the top left drawer there is a small wooden box, bring it to me."

Without a word, I entered the house and headed to the back. I couldn't help but stare at everything as I passed it, the giant leopard head on the wall, the weird card game setup on the table. I made my way to the back and through a doorway into Chiron's office. There wasn't much in there besides a desk, some bookshelves, a record player, and a stack of old classical records. I walked behind the desk and opened the drawer that Chiron had told me about. As promised, there was a small wooden box inside. I picked it up and then left the room, returning to Chiron.

"Ahh thank you," He said, taking it from me "Now Raven, what I'm about to give you is something your mother gave me, she said I'd know when the time had come to pass it on. I believe that time has come."

"What is it?" I asked him

"This." He said, opening up the box He pulled out a lighter and held it out to me. It was a silver zippo with the words U.S Marines inscribed on the top, and a simple quote on the front of it: There is no try, only but to do or die, Semper Fi. I turned it over in my palm, unsure of what to do with it before Chiron finally spoke.

"Flick it." Chiron said

I popped the top of the lighter open and then flicked it, expecting a flame or something to come out of it. Instead, it turned into a sword. My dad had liked to study swords all the time, and I had picked up a thing or two, but even I didn't recognize the style of the blade. It had an old, leather hilt, it looked worn and weathered as though it had seen a lot more than a few owners. The blade was even more impressive, around two and a quarter foot long and an inch wide, with Stygian iron in the center, and the outside of the blade was celestial bronze, and then rimmed at the very edge with silver.

"What?" I asked, shocked

"It was given to me by your mother in the late nineties," Chiron said "She never said where it came from, only that a champion would one day come along to pass this sword to, and that I would know when the time came. I believe this champion is you."

"It feels...alive." I said

"Yes," Chiron nodded "Our weapons have personalities that we can't imagine, they have witnessed things we only dream about, they could tell us great stories."

"How do I get it back to a lighter?" I asked him

"Simply ask." Chiron said, as though the answer should've been obvious

_Okay_, I thought _Ummm, sword? Would you mind, like, turning back into a lighter please_?

It shrank back into a silver zippo and sat, harmlessly, in my palm. I turned it over and over, admiring the craftsmanship. I found myself wondering how it could turn into a lighter and a sword, but dismissed the thought, figuring it would probably just give me a headache.

"What's with the zippo?" I asked "Artemis pick up a smoking habit and a love of the Marine Corps a while back?"

"Actually, if I know the Lady of the Hunt as well as I think I do, it's likely something sentimental to you or her, maybe both," He said "My guess is that it belonged to your father."

Now that he said it, I vaguely remembered Dad telling me a story about a favorite lighter he had that belonged to my grandfather in Vietnam and had been passed down to him, that he had carried it during his tour in the Middle East. But when I had asked about it, he had simply said it was lost.

"Now," Chiron said "This sword is deadly, those are three metals that were never meant to be fused together, and the fact that they are is baffling. Be careful."

"Thanks," I said, pocketing the lighter "But what do you mean?"

"It's very difficult to explain," Chiron said "You see, typically, swords are made of one, singular metal. This one, as you can see, is made of three different types."

"Yeah," I said "What's so special about it though?"

"With this weapon, you can kill monsters, creatures of the deepest, darkest reaches of the Underworld," He explained "And even werewolves."

"Hold up," I said "Ya'll have fucking werewolves?"

"Well, they very rarely show themselves," Chiron said "Haven't really seen them much since Nico destroyed their leader, but yes, we have werewolves."

"Chiron!" A voice yelled from behind me

I turned to see Percy coming up the hill. He looked winded, as though he had run all the way up here. His hair was plastered to his face and his clothes were soaked with sweat. He doubled over to catch his breath before speaking.

"Artemis just arrived," He huffed "Literally just walked into the camp, looking for him. She's in the Artemis cabin."

"Me?" I asked "Why?"

"Obviously she'd like to meet her son," Chiron said "Let's go and greet her, shall we?"

Artemis:

"Everybody out," I told the hunters "I'll speak with him alone."

They followed my order and cleared out, leaving me alone. I was nervous to meet my son, because I knew what he was thinking. He blamed me for everything that had happened, and it was my fault. If I had just taken him away after his father died, none of this would've happened. I had to own up to the fact that I had broken my oath, and Apollo had been right even though I had swore he wouldn't be. Of course, if the god of prophecy tells you something is going to happen, fighting it makes it happen sooner. Why couldn't you just walk past that store?" I thought angrily Why did you have to agree to go on that date? Why didn't you go straight back to the hunters? But it wasn't quite that simple. Mark had been a great man, and I knew it the moment I met him. Even when I had just dumped Raven on him and told him everything, he wasn't bitter. I had willingly given my virginity to a man I hadn't known long, but it was like I had known him for years. It was something I didn't take lightly, and neither did he. I hadn't seen Raven since his father had been arrested, I had just abandoned him. I heard footsteps and Chiron appeared in the doorway, followed by a boy. He was wearing a white t shirt and basketball shorts. He had a horrible scar down one of his eyes, his silver eyes.

"Lady Artemis," Chiron said "May I present to you, your son, Raven."

He walked inside and stood in the doorway, unsure of what to do. The tension in the air was thick and the mood was very very awkward. I felt his anger but he made no moves, said nothing. He was fuming, and standing in front of me made it even worse.

"I'll leave you two alone." Chiron said, walking away

"Thank you." I told him

Chiron disappeared, yet Raven and I still stood there, saying nothing. I felt his anger subside just slightly, as though he was resigning himself to a talk that he didn't really care to have. Eventually, he cleared his throat, and shifted his feet.

"I suppose you want to explain where you've been for fifteen years?" He asked me

"I know it's not an acceptable answer, but I had to," I told him "You have no idea what they would've done if they knew you were alive, or what they might do now."

"So send me back then," He said "Wipe everybody's memory and just send me back to Flat Junction."

"It's not that simple," I said, smiling sadly "I kept you safe for as long as I could, but I can't do that anymore. Now that you're here, I have to own up to my mistakes."

"So I'm a mistake?" He asked angrily

"Yes," I said "I'm sorry it comes out that way but you weren't ever supposed to be born. The fact that you were, it means everything is falling into place."

"What do you mean by falling into place?" He asked me

"All in due time," I told him "I came here to collect you."

"For what?" He asked

"Your trial," I told him "The gods are angry, not all, but most. Zeus has declared that if the council decides you are worth sparing, you will be allowed to live."

"So I'm paying for your mistakes?" He demanded

"Get used to it, that's how Zeus is," I said "He will punish demigods for the mistakes of their parents, and you won't be the last person to feel his wrath."

"And you're just letting it happen?" He demanded "You don't even try and fight the fact that I might die because you couldn't control your urges?"

"I did try and fight it," I told him, my voice cracking "I really did, but Zeus has made up his mind, there is no other way."

"What about Dad!" He yelled "Did you try and stop Dad from killing himself? I didn't even go to his funeral because I hated him for killing _you_! And yet here you are right in front of me, and not dead! I can't ever take back what I did!"

"He didn't commit suicide." I said quietly

"What?" He asked, shocked

This sudden revelation had startled him out of anger, at least for a moment. His eyes soon blazed with a new fire again, only this time it was more of a curious anger, as though he was restraining his feelings until he could gather more information.

"Mark was hung in jail, yes," I told him "He was in there for murdering me, yes, the agents that arrested him were not humans, they were monsters, and Mark was murdered by one of them, he did not kill himself."

"Who?" Raven demanded "Who killed him?"

"An old enemy of mine," I said "One who I once rejected, and who took revenge."

"Who?" Raven growled

"He's a Giant," I said "Defeated last summer, you might have heard of Orion?"

**Okay guys so kaboom if you reading this it means you didn't get to read the shitty version so count yourself lucky that you got here to read the edited version.**


	4. Trials

**Hey guys. Thanks for tuning in, and here is chapter four yall. It's been a long day and I've had a few technical difficulties but I have it figured it out. Anyways I won't keep you. There isn't really much to say.**

Chapter 4: Trials

Thalia:

We led Raven to mount Olympus in chains, which he was not fond of. Turns out, Raven's been arrested quite a few times and is no stranger to resisting. Dad had claimed his as a prisoner, and demanded he be treated as such. He was led into the throne room of the gods with his hands and feet shackled, and a glare on his face, by a ten hunter escort. The throne room had a big open arena like space between all of the thrones, and all the gods except for Athena and Dionysus.

"Raven Mark Alistair!" My father boomed as soon as we entered "You stand here today, on trial for your crimes."

"I still have yet to hear what crimes exactly." Raven spat at him

"Ummmm, mouthing off to him is probably not a good idea." I whispered to him

"Your birth could mean bad omens for us all, and we cannot take chances," Zeus said "If you prove yourself worthy, I will allow you to live. If you cannot, you die."

"Oh why not just kill the boy now?" Hera demanded

"Dear please," Zeus said, his hand on his head "What kind of justice is it if we don't at least give him a chance?"

"What kind of justice is it that I'm here because _she_ gave birth to me?" Raven demanded, jerking his head to his mother

"I like this kid," Ares said "He's got spunk."

"Artemis if you will," Zeus said, ignoring them both "Please take your seat, let's just get this over with."

Lady Artemis walked over to her throne and sat down, casting a nervous glance at Raven, whose face remained stone cold. I couldn't get a read on weather or not he was nervous, but I figured it was safe to assume that he was.

"We will examine your memories," Zeus said "And based on your deeds, and the life you have lead, we will decide your fate."

"Well shit," Raven muttered "I'm fucked."

Zeus ignored him and motioned to some guards, who pushed a giant basin into the center of the room. It was a great, gigantic bowl with some sort of clear, swirling liquid inside it. I had never seen it before but I knew what it did. It played your memories in front of the entire council, anything the gods wanted to know, they would see. Zeus extended his hand and a small, silver strand slowly moved out of Raven's temple. He didn't seem to notice it for a second, but when he did the alarm was very apparent in his face. Amber put her hand on his arm and whispered something into his ear, calming him down.

"The first memory we will examine, is from the date of July 16, 2011." Zeus said as the memory settled into the bowl

A image began to form above the bowl, showing a younger version of Raven, without a scar, sleeping in a bed. Bed was a bit of an exaggeration, as it was just an old mattress on the floor with a tattered blanket and a dirty pillow, surrounded by empty liquor bottles and a bong next to the bed. Raven began to stir just after the memory began, pushing the blanket off and sitting up.

"Oh shit!" He said, hopping out of the bed "What time is it?"

He was wearing basketball shorts and a pair of black socks, and a fresh scar sat on his left bicep, FJC. He pulled on a New York Giants jersey and an old pair of Nikes, checking the time on an old cell phone. He grabbed a switchblade and a pair of brass knuckles off of an old table and shoved them into his pocket.

"Joker!" Somebody yelled from outside the door "Get the fuck up! Let's go!"

"Free," Raven said, opening the door "Sorry man, I slept in. Let's go."

The two boys ran down the stairs and through the lobby of an old apartment building, and out the front door. There was a car parked out front with an older black kid and a mexican kid about their age sitting in the car already.

"What's up Joker?" The older boy asked as they got into the car

"Shit man, same old thing just a different day." Raven said

"Yeah," The older boy said, driving off "I heard that. Alright guys, in and out for this. No funny shit, we make the drop and get out, nothing else."

"Man you worry way too much," Free said "It's just us."

"Yeah that's what I'm worried about baby bro," The kid said "It's ya'll three mothafuckas."

"Hey, it's all cool Strap," Raven said "We got it, nothing we need to worry about."

"Three keys of coke as a peace offering to the Bloods," Free said in disbelief "Never thought I'd see the day."

"Man fuck the Bloods," Strap laughed "If it was up to me, shit we'd be going over there to kill them niggas, know what I'm saying B?"

"And that shit right there is exactly why it ain't up to you ese." The mexican kid laughed

"Hey Money," Strap laughed "You want to walk little nigga?"

"Voy a caminar a la casa de su perra." Money muttered

"The fuck you just say to me?" Strap asked, still laughing "English mothafucka, do you speak it?"

"I speak english better than you do puta." Money laughed

The four of them laughed as they pulled into the parking lot of an old abandoned store. Across the parking lot, we could see a red SUV with gold rims parked, surrounded by kids dressed in red. I already knew why my father wanted to look at this day first, because it was the day Raven had first killed somebody. He had never outright said it, but I knew it subconsciously. I could just tell it in his attitude and in his eyes, he had seen death, and sometimes he had been death.

"Man fuck these dudes," Strap said in disgust "Let's do this shit and go."

"Your brother seems to like them." Money said to Free as they all exited the car

"Shit," Free laughed "Maybe he's secret lovers with one of them."

Raven rolled his eyes and the boys made their way across the parking lot to where the Bloods were waiting. There was an air of tension that I could feel even through the memory, as though the entire world had held it's breath to see what these two long time rivals would do.

"You got the yayo?" One of the Bloods asked

"You got the duckets?" Strap retorted

One of the Bloods threw a backpack on the ground and Raven picked it up, opening it as he did so. Inside there were piles of twenty dollar bills, which seemed to satisfy Raven as he nodded to Strap. Strap handed the backpack in his hand to one of the Bloods who opened it up and checked it, seeming satisfied with their trades.

"Alright!" He called "Fuck these crabs up."

Boys in red suddenly appeared out of every nook and cranny, all holding weapons. Baseball bats, knives, guns, you name it, they had it. They leveled their weapons, but before anybody could make a move, cars swooped in from every direction, and boys dressed in blue began hopping out.

"Scatter!" Strap yelled, tackling a Blood

Gunshots tore through the air as the gangs began shooting and fighting, killing and wounding eachother. Already a dozen boys were lying dead on the ground, and even more were dropping. Raven tackled a Blood close to his size and the two wrestled for his gun. The gun went off the the boy straightened suddenly, gasping for breath as he fell, his shirt soaked in his own blood. Raven stared in horror as Strap came out of nowhere and started pulling Raven away.

"Come on!" He yelled "Let's get the hell out of here."

Suddenly, he was stitched across his chest and dropped to the ground, not moving. Raven ducked down like he wasn't sure what to do, but then another Crip grabbed him and pulled him along urgently.

"Let's go!" He yelled

"STRAP!" Free yelled

"Free let's fucking go!" Another Crip yelled, grabbing Free

The Crips started falling back to their cars and running down the streets, in total chaos. The image faded out, and another one formed in it's place. This one showed Raven a little bit older, maybe about six months, still no scar. He had an angry fire in his eyes as he stared out at the massive amount of Crips standing around, waiting for everybody to be ready. I wasn't sure what they were doing, but I knew it wouldn't be long before I found out. Free came up behind Raven and nodded at him, passing in silence.

"Man I'm worried about Free," Money said, coming to Raven's other side "I don't think he's got his head in this shit."

"He's fine," Raven told him "A war with the Bloods is exactly what we need right now."

"Nigga that's the last thing we need right now," Money argued "Them Bloods outnumber us eight to one, they're connected with the mob so you know every one of them niggas got straps."

"So do we," Raven said, rolling his eyes "Look, just do your job and stay quiet."

Money stopped arguing and an older kid, about nineteen or so, stood up on one of the cars. Immediately, all of the Crips went silent. I could tell that all of the boys respected this kid, and I knew why. I recognized him from the news, he had been gunned down in a gang shootout just over two years ago. He had been on the news and his list of felonies and warrants was a long one, as was the list of people who wanted him dead.

"Alright guys!" He called "You all know what we're doing, why we're doing it don't ya? If anybody wants to back down now, I won't blame you."

Even though his words said it was okay, it was very clear that it wasn't. If anybody tried to turn back now, they'd be killed. Nobody moved a muscle because he made this very clear by the look he was giving, which could be felt even though it was night and hard to see.

"Those Bloods killed our brothers," He said "Strap, Dack, Clipper, they're all dead because of these guys."

"Let's go kill some Slobs!" Somebody yelled

This was met with a roar of approval from the gang members that were gathered in the street, which caused the gang member on top of the car to grin widely. Pretty soon, the Crips were screaming a battle cry and chanting so loud, that the Bloods probably already knew they were coming.

"FJC!" They chanted "FJC! FJC! FJC! FJC! FJC!"

"Let's get those bastards!" He yelled, sliding down into the car

Everybody stormed into the cars and the memory fast forwarded a little bit. This time, they were pulling up on a street corner, which was entirely occupied by boys dressed in red. Gunfire tore through the air the second the cars pulled up, and bodies immediately began to drop. Crips started jumping out of cars and Bloods were running from all over the place, screaming and shooting at the same time. Raven was holding an uzi and firing at anything that moved. He hit a Blood in the leg, causing him to fall to the ground. A Crip came up from behind, leveled his gun, and fired into the back of his head, leaving him dead on the pavement.

"THAT'S IT!" One of the Crips yelled "KILL THESE NIGGAS! KILL EM ALL!"

"FUCKING SLOBS!" Free yelled next to Raven, firing his weapon

I glanced at Raven, who flinched with every body that dropped. I knew, to him at least, it was like my father was forcing him to relive what he had done. I wanted to shout that it wasn't fair, to stick up for him in some way, but there was no overturning this decision.

"FALL BACK!" One of the Bloods yelled "LET'S GO!"

They began running back through the street closely followed by Crips, who were screaming insults as they shot them. Bodies littered the street, both Crip and Blood, behind them. I had always known gangs were considered violent, but this was too much. I thought this was the kind of thing that only happened in movies, and yet the boy standing next to me had actually participated in it. It was hard to believe that kids could do something like this, but anybody was a killer if you pushed the right buttons.

"LET'S WASTE THESE FUCKING SLOBS!" A Crip screamed, shooting after the fleeing gang members

This was met with a roar of approval from the Crips as they picked up the pace. The Bloods stopped at the end of the street and four or five red cars rolled around the corner and Bloods piled out of it, returning fire at the Crips. Everybody either took cover or was gunned down on the spot. Raven ducked behind a porch railing and started blind firing in the direction of the Bloods. I saw one take a bullet to the head and drop, dead. The throne room was filled with the sound of gunfire and screams, which echoed throughout Olympus.

"HEY!" Money yelled from behind Raven "I HEAR COPS!"

He was right. Police sirens could now be heard, and getting louder and louder. The gunfire slowed for a moment and then ceased entirely as everybody began scattering in different directions to avoid the Police.

"BACK TO THE CARS!" An older boy yelled "LET'S GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!"

They fell back down the street just as NYPD cars were pulling into place. The Crips opened fire at the Police, both killing and wounding. They tore through them and headed back up the street, most of them making it to the cars. Those who didn't took off on foot if they weren't gunned down by the arriving officers, which was the majority of them. The memory began to fade out as the cars began pulling away from the scene, filled with those that had survived.

"Is there a defense?" My father asked as the memory ended

"Yes," Artemis answered immediately "I'd like to bring your attention to about a year and a half ago, when Raven helped a maiden in distress."

"You think one example of a good heart will save him?" Aphrodite demanded

"Well, there was actually more than one," She said "This one is the most recent."

Another image began to form, this time showing Raven, with a scar, and Free sitting on a curb outside an old house, smoking cigarettes. They sat in silence for a moment, with nothing but the chirping of crickets and the breeze cutting through the silence.

"Man when the fuck this nigga gonna be done?" Free demanded, flicking his cigarette "If he gonna fuck an old bitch for food stamps, he need to do it quicker than that?"

"Hey, they need food stamps," Raven shrugged "Maybe he just getting some extra ones."

"What you think he doing?" Free laughed "Sucking her old man's dick?"

The two boys cracked up, their laughter echoing through the night. The door to the house open and the mexican kid, Money, stepped outside, buttoning his blue, plaid shirt up. He had a look of shame on his face as he pocketed a sheet and went to meet Raven and Free.

"You know," Raven said as they drew near "I hate to make fun of a nigga for getting food stamps, but we were just wondering if you could get ya food stamps faster homie?"

"Ah shut up ese," Money said "It's bad enough I gotta fuck a fifty year old woman for food stamps every few weeks without you guys ragging on me for it."

"Don't trip," Free said as they began walking "You do what you gotta."

They walked down the street, cracking jokes and shoving eachother. The Raven in the memories was getting closer and closer to resembling the Raven that stood next to me, with those young eyes that had seen so much, and the small evil that raged within him. I remembered the prophecy that Lady Artemis had confided in me a few years back, and at the time I didn't even know she had a son. I was sick of prophecies, they irritated me to no end.

"Hey Joker," Money said "Since me and Free both got girls, even though mine is fifty and married, when you gonna settle down and find you a girl?"

"When I meet one that ain't fucked half of FJC." Raven laughed

"Nigga you've fucked half of the BLC." Free said, laughing

"Boss Lady Crips is different," Raven said "I won't date a girl who been exposed to this shit."

"What you looking for then?" Free asked "Some innocent ass girl who don't know shit about gang banging and dope dealing?"

"Yeah," Raven shrugged "I don't want a girl who understands my pain and what we've been through, we depressing as shit sometimes."

The boys laughed and kept walking, lighting up new cigarettes as they walked. Suddenly, they stopped, listening. I couldn't tell what they were listening for, but they all seemed troubled by it. Raven did a quick three sixty to try and figure out where it was coming from.

"You hear that too?" Money asked

"Yeah, somebody just screamed." Raven said

Another scream sounded, and this time I heard it too. A girl was screaming for help, rape, any word that got close to those meanings. Without a word, the three boys pulled handguns from their waistbands and sprinted off in the direction that the screams had come from. They turned into an alley, which could barely be seen even by the street lights, but what was happening was very clear.

"Get off of me!" A girl was screaming, pushing and shoving

The girl looked familiar, but I couldn't really place it. There were four guys, each with hoods up and their faces covered. One was working on trying to take her pants off, while the other three were holding her in place. She was kicking and fighting, trying to break loose. I noticed she was wearing a silver parka, and then I saw an abandoned bow lying next to her, and I realized who she was. Maya, she was a hunter. I realized she was part of the ten hunter escort, and so had the rest of the hunters with us, who all turned to look at her. She turned slightly red and diverted her gaze to the ground.

"Shut up bitch!" One of them yelled, hitting her "I swear man, no pussy is worth this much trouble!"

"Get off her!" Raven yelled at them, raising his weapon

They turned is surprise to find the three boys with their weapons each trained. The thugs didn't back down though, they grinned and pulled out weapons of their own, smiling. One had a baseball bat, the other three had pistols. Maya was lying on the ground, unconscious.

"Now why don't you boys run along," One of them said "This doesn't concern you."

"I'm pretty sure you were about to rape her ese," Money spat "On our turf, that makes it our fucking business holmes."

"Turf huh?" One of them laughed "Whose turf we on kid?"

"You don't even know where you're at do you?" Raven asked them, lifting his sleeve to show the FJC scar on his arm "You're in Flat Junction Crip territory motherfucker."

"Oh shit," One of them said, his eyes wide "Hey, you didn't say we were gonna be fucking with the FJC."

"There's only three of them," Another guy said "And they're kids, come on, I bet you've never even used those guns on anybody."

A gunshot cut through the air and the guy dropped, dead. Money grinned as a casing was ejected from his gun, and he raised it again, pointing it at the remaining three thugs. I don't know if they were in a rival gang or something, but they were genuinely scared of the three boys standing in front of them.

"One chance," Free said "Walk away now, and the rest of you won't end up like him."

"Hey look," One of them said, backing away "We didn't realize this was FJC turf alright, don't kill us man."

"GO!" Raven roared at them

They turned away and ran outside of the alley, not even looking back at their dead friend. As soon as they were gone, Raven ducked down next to Maya to make sure she was alright. Money picked up her bow as Free and Raven knelt down next to her, just as she came to.

"What happened?" She asked

"It's alright," Raven said gently "Those guys are gone, they won't hurt you."

"Oh my gods!" She exclaimed "You killed him! You actually killed him!"

"Either him or us," Money grumbled "You're welcome by the way."

"Give me my bow!" She demanded, pushing herself up

She took the bow from Money and turned back to Raven, a curious look in her eye. She examined his face, as though she had seen it somewhere. They made eye contact for a moment before Free cleared his throat, making them break eachother's gaze.

"I know you," She said "At least, I think I do. Your eyes -"

"Yeah, I hear a lot about those." Raven shrugged

"Hey Joker," Money said "I hate to break up whatever's going on, but I hear cops fam."

Before Raven could say anything, Maya dashed down the alley and into the night, leaving the three boys stunned at her speed and agility. The three of them followed out into the street and started back the way they came, with sirens echoing in the night behind them, and the the memory faded again.

**Alright guys, so I know I usually switch POVs a lot throughout the chapter, but I just kinda got carried away and then I was like fuck it. So welcome to the edited version, if you would like to know what happened in the original version, well basically this but different memories. First, Raven stabbed a guy at a weapons deal, then they killed a snitch, then things got heated, then he took a break and we came right back to this stupid shit. Anyways, review, God bless ya'll, and goodnight**


	5. The verdict

**Hey guys. So good to be back. Sorry about the little hiatus that I took after chapter 3. Nobody is reviewing and I don't know how to tell how many are reading it. There is never a thing that tells you. But there really isn't much to say. I don't own Percy Jackson or the Kane chronicles (I promise they will come in later on in the story) So review, flames are acceptable, yada yada ya. Ladies and germs I present to you chapter 5**

Chapter 5: The verdict

Raven:

"One example?" Hera demanded "You give us one example of a so called good heart?"

"I can give you more examples," My mother challenged "But you're going to vote his death anyways. I think I've made _my _point. My son may have been a bad person before, but he is still a hero just the same."

"Wow," I grumbled "Such a helpful person. Who's who here?"

"Well," Thalia began, indicating to each god as she spoke "That's Zeus, Poseidon, Hestia, Ares, Hades, Hermes, Aphrodite, Hera, Hephaestus, and Apollo."

"And Athena isn't here because she went missing?" I guessed "And Hestia is filling in for Mr. D because she's the reason he's even on the council in the first place?"

"Yeah, our voice of reason is gone," Thalia said "Or the one who could convince the entire council to kill you, depending on which side she chose."

"If we're going to kill him," Ares complained "Let's just do it already."

"HEY YO!" I yelled "I'm right motherfucking here! I can hear every one of ya'll talking about me like I'm not here!"

"Quiet boy," Zeus said "This is not your place to speak."

"Shut the fuck up!" I growled, my anger getting the best of me "You ain't shit, you send everybody else to do your dirty work. Fight me like a man!"

Zeus roared with laughter as did several of the gods in the room, except my mother, Apollo, and Poseidon. All of the gods thought I was joking, but I wasn't. I was serious about fighting him, but he didn't think so, I had to show him. I reached over and yanked Thalia's knife out of her belt and glared at Zeus, and the laughing finally stopped.

"Fight me," I growled "Like! A! Man!"

"Boy," Zeus said threateningly, standing up "I am no man. I am a god, an immortal. You cannot hope to defeat me."

"Prove it pussy." I said, glaring at him

"Unbind him." Zeus ordered I handed Thalia back her knife and she unlocked my chains, letting them fall to the floor. I reached into my pocket and pulled out my lighter, flicking it. It grew into the blade I had been given earlier this morning, and I held it out, challenging Zeus. A lightning bolt appeared in his hand and he kept his expression totally level as he advanced. Suddenly, my mother appeared in front of me.

"Father!" She exclaimed "Stop! You agreed to give him a trial!"

"And he wants a duel instead," Zeus shrugged "So that's what he'll get."

"Mom," I said "Move."

"No," She said "You can't do this father. He has little training, he'll be killed."

"Then let him die!" Zeus said "I'll blast through you if I must."

My mother didn't move, and I wasn't really sure what to do. She stood in front of me, protectively, not budging. Everybody froze and nobody made a sound for almost a full minute, before Zeus raised his lightning bolt, almost reluctantly.

"Very well Artemis," He said "You've made your choice."

The smell of ozone filled the air and the bolt sparked, and everything slowed down. I grabbed my mother and threw her to the side and took the blast full force, at least, I thought I did. I stuck my hand out and, just as the bolt connected, a wall of silver light appeared in front of me. The bolt connected with it and I was thrown back, the wall exploding. When I hit the ground, I looked at my mother, thinking that had been her doing, but she looked just as confused as I was. Everybody's head flicked back and forth between Zeus and I, waiting for the next move. I pushed myself to my feet, ready to continue the fight, but Zeus had other ideas.

"Interesting," He said, his bolt disappearing "I have reached my verdict. The boy lives."

"What?" Hera exclaimed angrily "No vote?"

"Ugh," Zeus groaned "Dear, please don't "

"No, there has to be a vote!" Hera yelled at him

"Fine!" Zeus exclaimed, throwing his hands up "All in favor of his death."

Several hands went up, more than I was comfortable with. Aphrodite, Hera, Ares, and Hermes.

"All for sparing him?" Zeus asked

My mother, Zeus, Hestia, Poseidon, Hephaestus, Hades, and Apollo's hands went to the air. I let my sword go back into a lighter as I realized what that meant, seven to four, I would be allowed to live. I knew I couldn't have beaten Zeus, at least, not at the time. If it had been three years later, I could've taken him down easily, but right then was a no.

"The boy lives," Zeus announced, annoyed "Now get him back to camp."

"Yes father." Thalia said

We left the throne room together, with my mother, in a very big rush. I was starting to get used to her as my mother, even if I still hated her. Slowly, the anger was fading away. I was starting to realize that there were gods a lot worse than her, like the ones who wanted me dead. As we were leaving, a voice called out to us.

"Wait!" Hermes yelled "Raven! Might I speak with you, alone."

My mother glanced at me and I nodded, letting her know it was okay. Hermes had voted for my death, so I wasn't sure why he wanted to talk to me. I was a bit on edge, wondering if he'd just take matters into his own hands and kill me right then.

"You'll have to forgive me for calling for your execution," Hermes said "But you see, I know what it means for a demigod to be very dangerous, and spared for an unknown reason."

"You do?" I asked skeptically

"Yes," He explained "It's a long story, but I had a son, who was extremely dangerous. Perhaps you've heard of Luke Castellan?"

"Yeah, something here and there about him back at camp," I said "Traitor, helped Kronos rise, then helped destroy him once he realize what he did?"

"That's the one," Hermes shrugged "Had the council killed Luke as suggested when the Fates revealed what he would do, everything might've been avoided."

"But you convinced them to let him live?" I guessed

"Yes," Hermes said "And if you and the other two heroes are to choose the wrong side in the war to come, the blame will be on the seven gods that allowed you to live."

"What war?" I asked "And what other two heroes?"

"All in due time my boy," He said, turning away "For now, go train, and try and stay alive. If you're going to be allowed to live, the least you can do is not get killed before you get a chance to prove yourself."

Before I could respond, I felt something. It was like a presence, a deadly one, with deadly intentions. I pulled my lighter out and turned around just as a man in black jumped on top of me from the shrine of Artemis above me. I felt a stinging pain in my side as we hit the ground, and then he was off me, running. I realized there was a dagger in my rib cage, and blood everywhere. I was only partially aware of Hermes screaming for a medic. As my vision began to go black, I saw arrows hit the assassin in mid run, and he hit the ground, then I lost consciousness.

Artemis:

"He'll be fine sis," Apollo assured me "He lost a lot of blood, but it's nothing I couldn't handle."

"Tartarus's cultists just attacked my son!" I exclaimed, outraged "And you're telling me to calm down?"

"They should have been dead," He said "We wiped them out in ancient times, we'll have to look into how he is here. He was clearly raised from the dead, but how is the question."

"Well clearly they aren't dead!" I yelled "One of them just tried to kill Raven!"

"Sister," Apollo said, grabbing my arm "He will be fine. We'll find out where he came from and what's going on, I promise."

"The prophecy is coming to pass," Zeus said "I hope he's up for the challenge Artemis."

"He'll be ready," I assured him "I will go back to the camp and train him myself."

"Let's hope," Zeus said, leaving my temple "Tartarus's cultists are only the beginning, there will be more, much more. I fear Tartarus himself may be behind this attack."

I had already sent the hunt back to camp, and I intended to send Raven back as soon as he woke up. I didn't know what that assassin was all about, but I intended to prepare my son for whatever he might face. My father was right, Tartarus was only the beginning, he served another master. The only question was, who was more powerful than Tartarus? He was one of the most powerful beings in existence, except for Typhon and a few others.

"Look, don't worry about Raven," Apollo said "He's going to be fine, and when he wakes up it'll be like it didn't even happen."

"He had a Stygian iron blade shoved hilt deep into his rib cage and three pints of his blood is laying on the ground in front of my shrine," I said, rolling my eyes "But I'm sure there's nothing to be worried about."

"That's the spirit," Apollo said, missing my sarcasm by miles "Three pints isn't that bad. Sure, he almost bled out, but I fixed him up right. He'll be good as new in no time."

I rolled my eyes again and sat down. Raven was going to be fine and I knew that, but I had been scared at first. My hunters had been quick to react, but not quick enough. He had almost been killed, and he'd known he was my son for less than forty eight hours. I never told him it wasn't going to be dangerous, but if he had to deal with this every time he left camp, I wondered how long it would be before nobody was there to help him.

"Damn," A voice said from behind us in amazement "This pad is dope."

I turned to see my son standing in the doorway of a room in the back where I slept sometimes. He was looking around, examining everything he saw. I found myself chuckling at his amazement of everything he laid his eyes on. My temple was more modern than the last one, thanks to the demigod who had redesigned Olympus after the battle of Manhattan.

"How are you feeling?" I asked him

"Fine," He said, staggering "Oh shit, not fine."

"Here," Apollo said, handing him a few pills "Take these, they'll fix everything right up."

Raven took the pills and threw them back, without even looking at them. I was amazed at the caution to the wind attitude he could have when taking strange pills, but then again, he probably figured anybody who voted to allow him to live wasn't going to try and kill him.

"What was that?" He asked me

"A cultist," I told him "From the ancient times. Followers of Tartarus, they were supposed to have been wiped out thousands of years ago."

"Well then why are they here?" He asked

"We don't know," Apollo said "He wasn't a shade, but he wasn't exactly human. All records of this cult were erased when Kronos destroyed them, we only know of them because we finished them off after Zeus defeated Kronos."

"Kronos destroyed a cult dedicated to the most evil force in the universe?" Raven asked, raising his eyebrows

"Well, actually," I explained "Kronos feared that Tartarus would use them as an army to try and topple his kingdom, so he had them wiped out. But there was still some left, and the gods cleared them out once we finished with Kronos."

"Okay, headache," Raven said "But I get the gist of it."

"Good, because even we don't really understand it." Apollo said

"That's reassuring," Raven muttered "So what do I do now then?"

"I will send you back to camp," I told him "You'll need to train if you are to survive."

"Do you think you could just send me, like, down the block?" He asked "I've got a stop I need to make before I go to camp."

"You want to walk to camp?" I asked him "Alone?"

"I'll be fine," He said "I'll keep an eye out for shady looking dudes wearing black, and I'll pop anybody that gets too close to me."

"I"ll send you down the block," I told him "But get to camp as soon as you can."

"I will." He promised I raised my hand at him and teleported him. A small flash of silver light, and then my son was gone. I wasn't sure exactly what he wanted to do, but I hoped he could do it quick and then get back to camp soon, especially when he is wanted dead by a very real threat to the gods.

"He'll be fine Arty," Apollo said "That boy is powerful, he just doesn't know it yet."

"Don't call me Arty," I said, pushing him "And I know he's powerful, that's what scares me."

**Kaboom ya'll, and we are almost done with the editing and fixing so lalalalala and all** **that. Sorry about the waits and stuff but I promise you'll thank me when you're not reading the shitiest thing I've ever wrote. Please read and review, God bless and I'm GONE!**


	6. The moonlight's lullaby

**Hey I'm back. Still no reviews but I've got one follow. So whoever that is thank you. I know that the last two chapters have had a bit of a weak ending but that will change. I promise. I've been working for a while on this chapter. So without further ado, I don't own Percy Jackson and here is chapter six.**

Chapter 6: The moonlight's lullaby

Raven:

I walked into the Artemis cabin and the hunters all turned and stared at me. They all regarded me with a weird curiosity, as if they still weren't quite sure what to think of me. I'd gotten less dirty looks since they found out Free, Money, and I had saved Maya from being raped. I hadn't known at the time she was a Hunter, but I could tell there was something different about her, I just never quite figured out what. As I sat down on my bunk, Thalia approached.

"Are you alright?" She asked me "You got pretty messed up."

"I'm fine," I told her "Something weird happened, like I made a shield or something."

"You used the power of the moon," She explained "You summoned an ancient power, and you're the first demigod to ever wield it."

"Well good for me," I said, shrugging "Fuck my life."

"You seem really happy, Annabeth said you haven't smiled or laughed at all since you got here." She said raising her eyebrows at me

Well, I'm high as a kite and alive," I laughed "What is there to be mad about at the moment?"

Thalia laughed at this, and I found myself laughing too. I saw Amber begin to make her way over to us, a worried look playing at her lips as she made her way to us. She approached us and sat down next to Thalia, leaning back against the wall.

"Are you alright?" She asked me

"Eh, I'm fine," I told her "A little banged up, but I'll live."

"That took some serious balls," Thalia said "To fight back against my father like that."

"I've got big balls," I laughed "Runs in the family."

We laughed and I grabbed a bottle of whiskey from my backpack, and popped the top. I stared at it for a moment, thinking. I wouldn't say I was an alcoholic, but I did enjoy drinking. It wasn't something I was proud to admit, but I would never admit it.

"Here's to me still being alive," I laughed, raising the bottle"For the next, what? Give me two months?"

"Well let's hope not," Amber said as I threw the bottle back "I don't think Lady Artemis would be very happy.

"Nah, me neither." I said

For the first time since I had arrived at Camp Half-Blood, the voices had stopped. I had been arguing with myself inside my head for the past week, kill them, run, stay, hide, be cool, don't kill anybody. I hated camp at first, but I had grown to accept that I couldn't go back to Flat Junction, there wasn't anything back there for me anymore.

"I wasn't always like this you know?" I told her

"What do you mean?" Thalia asked me

"I wasn't always like this," I said "A gangbanger, a drug dealer, a murderer."

"Well, why don't you tell me a little bit about the old Raven." She said sitting cross legged and putting her chin in her hands like a kid waiting for story time

"You were in that throne room, you saw the memories." I said

"Well, what about the Raven before that?" She asked

I sighed. She wasn't going to give this up. So I sat back and took another drink.

"Well, once upon a time," I began "I was young, small, and slightly adorable.

Thalia snorted. I handed her the bottle again and she took another small drink.

"Anyways, before the whole gang life thing, I was this little innocent scared kid. And I used to be terrified of everything. But, I used to stay up late at night, to watch the moon. I know it sounds weird, but the moon has always comforted me. Sometimes, I would talk to it, and I swear it would talk back to me. I think I spilled my feelings to the moon more than anyone else in the world. It was just easy, it didn't get bored and leave me. And even when it did, I knew it was always coming back," I told them "And then, when I joined the gang, I had to learn to be tough quick. So I didn't really talk to the moon anymore. I still looked to it for comfort every now and again."

I realized all of the hunters had stopped what they were doing and now listening. I took another drink. I was spilling myself to these girls. Why? No idea, but I just was. Maybe I felt like I could trust them, which was weird because half of them wouldn't trust me to bring them an arrow.

"After a while, if something bothered me, I either drank or smoked it away. And when something made me angry, I stabbed it, mugged it, or shot it. What they call childhood innocence was taken away from me," I said "I never had anybody watching my back until I became a Crip, before that, I had nobody."

I could tell most of the Hunters were beginning to think much differently of me now. They saw me as a human being with emotions and fears, not just some gangbanging monster who got all his nutrients from weed and liquor.

"Well, story time is over, I'm going to get some sleep before dinner." I said

I laid back down on my bed and pulled the blankets over me. I heard the Hunters going back to whatever it was they had been doing. But that was about as far as I went before I passed out.

Amber:

Thalia sent me to wake Raven as the hunters left for dinner. I was very cautious about approaching a sleeping gang member, with my luck he'd roll over shooting. I tapped his shoulder and his eye immediately shot open, but his hand did not close around the gun on his nightstand, which I was very grateful for.

"It's time for dinner." I told him

"Ahh shit," He joked "Such a pretty sight to wake up to."

I knew he was just messing around, but I still blushed. Not a whole lot of people could make me blush, and to be honest Raven was kind of cute. But, I was a hunter, so no falling in love. Still, I couldn't help staring as he got off the bed and removed his shirt. He walked over to his dresser to change his shirt.

"Can I ask you something?" I asked

"Shoot." He said pulling a black tank top from his dresser.

"In those memories, the first one, you were really, really, unhealthily skinny, then you just got twice that size in less than a year in the next few." I started

"And you're wondering how I managed that?" He asked, raising his eyebrow at me

"Yeah." I admitted

I know it really was a silly thing to wonder, but I had never seen that much of a change in a year's time, and it just kind of made me wonder. ADHD I guess. He thought about it for a moment before he finally decided on an answer. I wondered if he was debating telling me the truth or not, but I guess his business is his business and not mine.

"Well, I've been to jail a few times, there really isn't much else to do but lift weights or sit in a cell." He told me

"How long were you in?" I asked him

"The first time, two weeks, then I made bail, the second time four months no bail." He said smiling at me

"Oh so you're a bad boy?" I asked jokingly

"Yeah, you know Disney Channel told me to get my parent's permission before going on the website," He bragged "But I went ahead and just logged on."

We laughed. I'll admit, he was growing on me. I guess a son of Lady Artemis was just what the hunters needed. Some of them are just a bunch of tightwads. He pulled a silver hoodie out of the closet and put it on. We walked out of the cabin and started down towards the pavilion.

"So where you from?" He asked me as we walked

"Harlem," I told him "We never had a whole lot, so we lived in a small apartment. Just me and my Dad, when I was eight he got married again. They moved to Kansas years ago when he retired, I visit them on occasion."

"And you're a daughter of Aphrodite?" He asked me

"Yeah." I shrugged

"Well, don't take this the wrong way," He said "How come you don't wear a shit ton of makeup? Most of the Aphrodite kids here do, at least the girls."

"I don't know," I laughed "I guess I'm just now shallow and conceited."

"Conceited?" He asked "What's that mean?"

"Like stuck up," I explained "Arrogant."

"Oh," He said, lowering his head in shame "I uhh, I'm not very good at english or big words. I can barely write, and I don't know how to read."

"Wait, really?" I asked him, shocked

"Yeah," He said "I know how to spell some basic words, but I don't know how to do much more than them."

"Like what?" I asked

"Well," He began "There's Fuck, Slobs, Bloods, Crips, Flat, Junction, Southside, Brooklyn, Police, and that's about it."

"I could ummmm, well I could teach you." I offered

"Could you really?" He asked me

"Yeah," I said, entering the pavilion "If you want to."

"Of course I want to," He said, sitting down "Thanks."

"Heroes!" Chiron called before I could respond "Come to attention please!"

The campers went silent and the chatter died down as everybody fixed their gaze on Chiron, who looked very grave, as though he had some bad news to deliver and he was not looking forward to it. Even then, before hearing anything, I knew it was about the gods going missing.

"First and foremost, we have made it through another day with no injuries, for which we are thankful," He said, casting a glance at the Ares cabin "We welcome back Raven, who has been tried and allowed to live."

"Yeah, don't everybody welcome me back at once." Raven said, cutting through the silence.

The campers laughed and Chiron smiled. I could tell something was bothering him, because he kept glancing at Raven and whenever he did, he would look really sad. Like he was looking at a dead man, or he was already at his funeral.

"Yes yes, welcome back," Chiron said "Now, we have more news on the whole kidnapping of the gods issue."

The campers all stared, waiting for the news. I had faced quite a few monsters in my few months as a hunter, but never anything powerful enough to kidnap a god. I was scared of anything that had that kind of power, and I had a feeling I wasn't the only one.

"Two more gods went missing right after the trial," Chiron said grimly "Poseidon and Hera."

I saw the boy Thalia had introduced as Percy go pale, and he looked like he was going to be sick. I felt bad for him. I wondered how it must feel for each of the demigods when they found out their parents were missing. They were all no doubt wondering when a quest would be issued to track down the gods. But I knew it was too dangerous, anything that could kidnap a god was too powerful to be fought by demigods.

"When will there be a quest?" Someone from the Athena cabin asked

"I don't know, we are still attempting to decide if it may be too dangerous to send demigods or not." Chiron said

There was an immediate uproar. They were all yelling about they do dangerous stuff all the time, and this could be fixed. Chiron pounded his hooves but the demigods only got louder. Chiron yelled for them to be quiet but it was starting to turn into a full out riot. Suddenly, a huge explosion rocked the pavilion. All the demigods stopped rioting and turned to stare at a god floating above the fire pit in the center. Zeus was glaring at all of us.

"Demigods," He boomed "Stop, there will not be a quest at this time."

"Why not?" Percy demanded

"It is too dangerous, no demigod can stand against him." He said glaring at Percy

"Who?" Someone from the Ares cabin asked

Apparently, while the gods knew who was behind it, they weren't willing to share. Percy was glaring at Zeus with so much hatred, it made me want to just keep on backing away from him until I was as far away as I could possibly get.

"I have said too much already, there will be no quest." He said

At this, the rioting began again. This time fistfights broke out. I saw one of the Ares campers grab Raven's shoulder, turn him around and deck him hard in the face. Big mistake. Raven turned and grabbed him by the collar and slammed him up onto the head table. With his free hand, he punched the kid in the face several times.

"SILENCE!" Zeus bellowed as thunder shook the valley.

Raven stopped with his hand suspended in midair. Blood was coming from the kids nose and Raven had a black eye. Percy had some Athena kid in a choke hold. Thalia's brother was gripping a huge kid's arm. The kid had him by the neck and was holding him down. He had a rainbow tattoo on his arm. The kid was twice his size. Some big asian guy was holding a dark skinned girl close to him, trying to protect her from the rioters. All of the demigods stood (or laid) there in various positions. Even Annabeth had a kid on the ground by his arm as though she had just judo flipped him. The head counselor for the Aphrodite cabin, who had introduced herself earlier as Piper, had a girl, I think she said her name was Drew, by the collar and her knife was at Drew's throat.

"There will be no quest," Zeus said angrily "And that is the end of it."

And with that, he disappeared. The campers began backing off, most nursing minor injuries. I saw Jennifer, a nymph who had joined the hunters several weeks before I had, attempting to check out Raven's blackened eye. He winced when she touched it and shrugged her off.

"I'll be fine." I heard him say to her

He was still standing in the Ares kid's face, glaring at him. Neither one of them were backing down and Thalia and two other hunters stood between them and forced them back to their seats. Raven sat down next to me and began taking deep breaths to try and calm himself down.

"Now that we are all calmed down, this matter will be discussed later, for now let us eat." He said spreading his arms

Food appeared on the tables and everyone got up and scrapped some of their meal into the fire. There was an air of tension, as most of the people standing next to you had just punched you in the face. We sat back down and that's when I realized Raven was staring at his cup in confusion.

"What do I do?" He asked Thalia

"You've been here for a week." Thalia said as a matter of factly

"Yeah, but this is the first time I've actually eaten here, I usually just skip dinner and go into the city and eat something." He said

"Chiron let you?" Thalia asked, clearly puzzled

"Chiron didn't know, at least I don't think he did," Raven shrugged "He never said anything to me."

"What about monsters?" Thalia asked wide eyed

"They never bothered me." He answered

"Well just ask it for anything and it fills up." She said

Raven raised his eyebrows in disbelief, which made us all laugh. I remembered when I had first joined the hunters, I thought Thalia was messing with me, but as it turns out, she was dead serious. Raven opened his mouth to say something, but Thalia cut him off.

"Non alcoholic of course." Thalia said

"Well, fuck that." Raven said

He reached into the pocket of his shorts and pulled out one of those miniature Jack Daniels bottles, and popped the top. He threw back some and then sat it down next to his cup, and we all dug into our food. Raven put away more pizza than I even knew was humanly possible. We all made small talk while we ate, but it never really stuck. Eventually, I just gave up on talking and just ate my food. After three whole pizzas by himself, Raven finally decided he was done eating and rose from his seat. The majority of the hunters were finished and we all followed him back to the cabin. When we arrived, Lady Artemis was seated on her bed, waiting for us.

"Lady." Thalia greeted her

She nodded and made her way to Raven, who was packing a backpack with as much liquor and weed as it would hold. They had a small, heated debate before Raven said something that made her back down, reluctantly. He turned away and began to make his way out the door, taking his bag with him.

"Where are you going?" Thalia asked him

"Party, I'll be back later." Was all he said

Artemis looked worried but she said nothing as Raven gave her a quick hug and slipped out the door.

Artemis:

I worried for Raven. I hated to let him just leave like that, but I knew that he would leave anyways. When he wanted to go out and party, there wasn't much that could stop him. I was noticing how he was slowly forgiving me. He even gave me a small hug before he left. He was drunk, but still, it was a start. I thought about all of the gods that had gone missing. Poseidon had told me, before he went missing of course, that they would expect Raven to lead a quest because of the power that he had. I didn't want my son to have to face Tartarus, especially with the fates out to get him. That was one of the reasons I worried about him tonight, what if he was attacked? No one would be there to help him, and all he had was eight celestial bronze bullets.

"Lady?" Thalia's concerned whisper sounded in my ear

"I'm fine." I said reassuringly

"You're worried about Raven aren't you?" She asked

"Yes," I admitted "He is reckless, doesn't think, sometimes lets his anger get the best of him, like his mother I suppose."

I thought about the day I met his father, and I slipped into a daydream.

**15 years earlier: Bob's bait and tackle outdoors and hunting store, Brooklyn New York January 7, 1997**

I admired the craftsmanship of the wooden bow in my hands, holding it at every angle. I was in an old hunting store that belonged to a man named Robert Davis, one of the very few men I could actually stand. His wife had died of cancer several years ago around the first time I had ever come into the store. I took pity on him, and pulled a few magical strings to bring him business. I came back from time to time, to get arrows, hunting supplies, fishing poles, everything I needed could be found in this store. Whenever I came here, I chose the form of a twenty six year old me, instead of the tiny twelve year old girl I usually was around my hunters. I heard the shop bell ring, indicating that the door had been opened and then Bob's voice sounded from the front.

"How you doing today Mark?" He asked "Anything I can help you find?"

"Nah, just here to get some fishing lines," A man, I'm assuming Mark, said "I'm gonna head to the cabin this weekend, clear my head."

"Laid off again?" Bob asked

"Yeah," He said "Unions tend to be like that. Come work four hours away for shitty pay and then we'll lay you off without having another job lined up and ready when you're done with this one."

"I know how that feels," Bob laughed "Why don't you just quit and come work for me?"

"To be honest," Mark admitted "I've thought about it a lot, I'm pretty close to just doing that."

"Well, fishing lines are in the back, as always," Bob said "Help yourself, have fun this weekend. Maybe we can have a fish fry when you get back eh?"

"Yeah, that is if I catch anything." Mark laughed, making his way to the back

I heard Bob laugh and then footsteps began to sound, coming towards me. I wasn't fond of having a man come back here, I couldn't stand them. Most of them were pigs, not all but most. I went to leave the isle and bumped into a man as I came around the corner. He was about a foot taller than me, had a small amount of stubble, and a tan. He wore a New York Giants jersey and a pair of blue jeans, with a pair of scuffed construction boots. His mouth dropped open when he saw me, and he stood for a moment.

"I uhhhh," He stuttered "Hi."

"Hi." I said, shortly

"Oh, I'm sorry." He said, moving to the side

But now, I wasn't in such a hurry to leave. I felt something about this man, at the time I couldn't explain it, but I just felt something. I quickly glanced around for an excuse to stay, my eyes dashing all over the shelves. I finally settled on a quiver of arrows on a shelf just slightly out of my reach, I'm a goddess, unfortunately, I am a short goddess.

"Oh, I wasn't leaving," I told him "I was just going to get that quiver of arrows right there."

"Oh here." He said, reaching up and pulling them down for me

"Thank you." I said, taking them

"So what's your name?" He asked me

"Artemis Luna," I said, automatically referring to my cover name when I spoke to mortals "I'm from Greece."

"Oh really?" He asked me

"Yes," I said, becoming slightly more relaxed "What about you?"

"Well my name is Mark Alistair," He said "Retired Marine, I'm actually from Tennessee, but I found myself here after my mother died."

"Marine?" I asked him "You were a soldier?

"Yeah, He said, holding up his left arm to show a tattoo on the bottom of his forearm "Desert storm, I got caught in an explosion, took a few bricks to the head. I ended up with a severe concussion and a fractured skull, sent home on an honorable discharge."

The tattoo was a hand gripping a handful of chains, on the end of each was a dog tag, with a name, rank, and two dates. There were eight total, each with a different name. Donald Brown, corporal, 1970-1990. Richard Brotherton, Lieutenant, 1965-1991. Alex Trainer, Private, 1972-1990. Brandon Stewart, Private, 1970-1990. Colin Stewart, Private, 1970-1990. James Alistair, Sergeant, 1969-1990. Howard Franklin, Captain, 1963-1991. Devin Newman, Private, 1970-1991.

"James Alistair," I read aloud "Is that your-"

"Brother," He said sadly "Got hit by an IED a few months after we dropped in. He was a few years older than I was, always looked out for me."

"I'm sorry." I said

"Don't be," He said "He wouldn't have wanted me to spend my entire life grieving over him, I'll always remember him, but I won't lose myself."

I wasn't sure what to say, which was a very rare thing. I found myself intrigued by this man, in a way that I should not be. He stared for a moment, looking as though he was working up the courage to ask something. I knew exactly what he wanted before he even asked it.

"Would you ummm," He stuttered "Maybe like to get dinner sometime?"

My immediate instinct was to say no, because he is a man and I do not fall in love. Ever. But then, something held me back. I had been bred to think like that because of an oath I was forced to make, an oath that I only grew to envy over the years. Yes, I swore off men, yes I think most of them are pigs, but when you meet one that isn't, well you can't help but sympathize with him. I hated that oath, and I had grown bitter over it. I didn't even want to make it, I was forced to, because of that stupid prophecy. Out of pure ego and defiance to my father, my next answer sealed the fate of humanity.

"Where?" I asked him

"Well, I don't have a whole lot of money," He said "Not that there's anywhere very fancy around here, but what about the Applebee's around the way?"

"Of course," I said, smiling "What time?"

"Well," He said "I have to go finish moving everything into my apartment, so say around eight?"

"Eight is fine," I told him "I'll meet you there."

After that, I just left. I bought nothing, just left. It still didn't feel quite real to me, what I had just done. I was beginning to think it was a dream, but I knew it wasn't. Now I was having second thoughts, what if I actually fell in love with this man? What if we had a child? He would hate me because I would be forced to leave them. What if our child was a male? By law of the hunters, I would be required to loath and despise my own son. I arrived at the camp not long after that, to find all my hunters eagerly awaiting my arrival.

"Milady," Zoe said the second I arrived "Shall we pack and prepare to move?"

"No," I told her "I have tracked a prey, I'm going after it later."

"Understood," Zoe said "We will prepare to move out and accompany thee to take down this retched beast."

"No." I said, startling her

"No?" She asked, confused

"I must track this beast myself," I told them "This is something that you cannot be apart of."

Zoe looked as though she wanted to object, but she chose not to. She simply nodded and made her way back to the other hunters, leaving me alone. I walked into my tent, still thinking about Mark. This man was very different from all of those I had previously encountered, and I liked it. I liked it a lot.

**Several hours later**

"Sorry I'm late," Mark said, stepping out of his car "Radiator gave out on me, had to run to Auto Zone."

"No worries," I told him "I only just got here."

I was lying, of course. I had arrived at exactly eight, and waited on Mark for thirty minutes, but I wasn't going to tell him that. He held the door for me as we walked through, and stood protectively next to me as we waited in line. I won't lie and say I didn't find it amusing, how Mark stared down any man that got too close to us. He didn't move, didn't make it obvious, but I could tell what he was doing. They finally seated us and brought us drinks, and then we began to talk.

"So," He began "Were you married before ummm, this?"

"No," I told him "I've actually never been on a date before."

"A pretty girl like you?" He asked, shocked "I'm sure people must've been all over you in high school."

"Well," I said "I never said yes."

Mark chuckled, amused. He took a sip of his drink and grabbed a fry from the basket in front of us, tossing into his mouth. A waiter brought us our food a moment later and we ate in silence for a few minutes before I spoke again.

"So what about you?" I asked him "Did you have many dates?"

"No," He said "I've been on a few, but I've never been married. I was really only popular with the football players, could've gone pro you know."

"Really?" I asked him

"Yeah," He said "Varsity running back in my sophomore year, first string too."

I had no idea what he was talking about, but I figured it was just common knowledge I had chosen to ignore over the years. I knew a sophomore was a second year in high school, and I knew Varsity was a very big accomplishment, especially for a sophomore, but other than that, I was clueless.

"We won the state championships my senior year," He said "Got knocked out first round of playoffs in my sophomore year, made it to state but lost in my Junior year, then finally won in my Senior year."

"Well you're persistent." I laughed

"Yeah," He said, laughing with me "The coach always drilled it into our heads that persistence was key. Always said "Alistair, no matter how big those other guys are, if you refuse to stay down, eventually you will wear them down." He was a good man, I remember going to his funeral a few years back."

"What happens if you wear down first?" I asked him

"That was the trick," He said "I had to refuse to wear down, to keep going despite how broken or tired I was, and it worked."

We ate, talked, and laughed. I had intended to only go that once, just to see what it was like. Instead, over the course of the year, I kept moving the hunt back through Brooklyn and sneaking off to see Mark. This had gone on for three or four months before he finally made a move to kiss me one day, and I let him. I had never kissed anybody, or been kissed by anybody, so this was definitely new to me. But it was one of those things that was a good new, I was glad it had happened. I kept my hunters, my father, and everybody else in the dark. Nobody knew Mark and I were seeing eachother, and that's the way I intended to keep it. I never meant for it to carry on for long, and now I was beginning to wonder how long I could keep this up. One night, at a bench in the park, Mark did something I hadn't intended on.

"Hey," He said, suddenly "I have a question for you."

"Which is?" I asked him

"Well we've known eachother for a while now," He began "I've never been this sure of anything in my entire life, even though it hasn't been a year yet."

"Mark?" I asked "Where are you going with this?"

"Artemis," He began, pulling a box out of his pocket and getting down to one knee "Will you marry me?"

I was shocked, absolutely speechless. Mark was different, he was the only man I'd ever actually fallen in love with, but I couldn't marry him. But I couldn't tell him, could I? I took a shaky breath, looking into Mark's eyes, who were pleading with me to say yes. It was time to tell him the truth."

"I can't," I told him "Mark, there's something you should know."

"What?" He asked, standing up

"I'm not who you think I am." I said

"What do you mean?" He asked

"You ever hear any Greek myths?" I asked him

"Like Zeus?" He asked "Artemis, Apollo, Hades all that?"

"Funny you should throw my name in there," I said "My name is Artemis, just Artemis, I am the goddess of the hunt and virginity-"

I launched into an explanation of what I was and who I was. I told him about the flame of Olympus moving wherever it's influence was brightest, about everything. The longer I talked, the more shocked he looked. When I finally finished, his mouth was open wide, and he was completely stunned.

"That's why I can't marry you," I finished "I can't stay around to be your wife. Eventually you'll get old, and die, and I won't.

"But if you're Artemis, and I mean _the _Artemis," He said "Then why are you with me? Aren't you supposed to have sworn off men or something?"

"I was forced into that oath, I hated it," I told him "After a prophecy was made, I was forced to take the oath to have to children."

"So you just wanted to see what it was like to be with somebody?" He asked

"Mark," I told him "I've never fallen in love with anybody, at first this whole thing was out of defiance to my father. Then I really did fall in love, Mark you have to understand, I'm not supposed to even be with you at all."

"I believe you," He said "I do."

"Then you understand?" I asked, clarifying

"Yeah, I think I do," He said sadly "I love you."

"I love you too Mark," I told him "I really do, but I just, well it's hard to explain."

"I know it is." He said

We stood in an awkward silence for what seemed like hours even though it was only a few minutes. I was starting to regret ever even going into Bob's store that day, ever even staying in that isle instead of just leaving. I had just lead Mark on a nine month journey and then dropped him for no other reason than a stupid oath I had made.

"I suppose this means we can't see eachother anymore?" He asked

"As much as I hate to say it," I admitted "I think you're right."

"Can I at least drive you to wherever it is you need to go?" He requested "One last time?"

"I suppose there is no harm in that." I shrugged

I was wrong, there turned out to be a lot of harm in that. I could've easily teleported back to the camp, but after the way I had shut Mark down, I wanted to at least give him this one last request. We made our way back to his car in silence, and drove in silence, only speaking to give directions. When we finally pulled up to where it was I wanted to go, Mark shut off the car, but I didn't get out.

"Well," He said "I guess this is goodbye then?"

I made a split second decision in that very moment, one that set the events of the prophecy into motion. I leaned over, and pressed my lips to Mark's. I felt him stiffen in surprise before he relaxed and kissed me back. We broke apart after a few minutes, and made eye contact. In that moment, something took over my will and my instincts. I realized what it was in an instant, lust. But I did nothing to stop it."

"No," I said "_this _is not goodbye."

I kissed him again and we laid down in the back of the car, where the prophecy truly began.

**Brooklyn, New York, Mark's apartment, July 22, 1998**

I knocked on the door to Mark's apartment, while Raven squirmed in my arms. Styx had done something to him, and now he had a raven shaped brand mark on his left shoulder, as some sort of mark. I heard footsteps before the door opened, and Mark's shocked face stared back at me.

"Artemis?" He asked

"Hi." I said, giving him a small smile

It was then that he noticed the sleeping baby in my arms, and his eyes got even wider. It looked just like him, with my eyes, and my ears, but with his nose, mouth, jawline, and hair. Raven made a small sound but still didn't wake, which I was grateful for as it took me hours to get him to sleep. He was very high strung, even for a demigod.

"His name is Raven," I said, holding him out "This is our son, well, one of them."

"One of them?" Mark asked, taking Raven "Showing up with a baby and saying this is yours is one thing, but it's completely different to show up with one baby and claim we have two. Come inside, obviously we have a lot to talk about."

"I had twins," I said, entering the apartment "But we need to keep them separate for the time being. I named both of them, one after your brother, or at least his middle name. This is your son, Raven Mark Alistair."

"What about the other one?" He asked "What's his name? Where's he at?"

"His name is Eli James Alistair," I told him "Raven, is my son, but Eli is a son of Diana, my Roman form. So these two had to be kept separate, so I left Eli at an orphanage near Camp Jupiter, a Roman demigod camp. He'll find his way there eventually. I brought Raven here because Camp Half-Blood is in Long Island, and eventually he will need to go there."

"Roman form?" He asked

"I had a sudden tear between my two forms at the very moment of their conception," I explained "One of them is Greek, the other is a Roman. If Eli survives his trials, he will become a Roman."

"And if not?" Mark asked

"I'd rather not think about that one." I told him

"So then is _this _goodbye?" Mark asked

"For the time being," I said "Yes. I will claim Raven eventually, and I will be forced to face the consequences of his birth, but for now, I will keep my distance from him, for as long as I possibly can."

"I'll do my best to raise him," Mark promised "What should I tell him about you?"

"Tell him I'm dead," I said "It's best he doesn't know anything about me at all."

"Okay," Mark said "Then I guess this is goodbye."

"It is," I said, kissing him for the final time "But one day we'll see eachother again."

**Present day**

I sat on the bunk bed inside the Artemis cabin plucking quietly at my leer. I played a soft harmonic tune, like a lullaby. I did this most nights, and all the hunters usually went to sleep to it. In fact, most of the girls were asleep now. But that didn't last much longer, as the door suddenly burst open and my son staggered through it, completely wasted.

"What the-?" Thalia said, sitting up

Raven walked in and placed his backpack on the bed, and flicked his cigarette out the door. He was using the wall as a support and looked up to see all the hunters staring at him. He squinted, as though he was trying to make out faces before he put his finger to his mouth.

"Shhhhh," He said "Everybody's asleep."

Most of the hunters chuckled, but the majority glared at Raven. He staggered into Amber's bed, who caught him and helped him stand too his feet. Suddenly, she let go of him and backed away, horrified. He hit the floor with a thud and grunted, pushing himself back up.

"Ow," He said "That wasn't nice."

"You're bleeding!" Amber exclaimed

"What happened?" I demanded, standing up

"Oh that? That's nothing, the party got busted and some dumbass shot at the cops," He explained "So they started shooting at us, and I grabbed a bunch of liquor and weed and hauled ass, got hit in the back."

He took off his sweatshirt and his t-shirt underneath was soaked in blood. One of our healers came up and took his shirt off and started working on the bullet wound, pulling at it and examining it before she looked up at me.

"I'll have to dig it out." She said

Raven reached over to his bag and pulled out a bottle of Jack Daniels, and handed it to her. She took it, confused as to what he was wanting her to do with it. He stood for a moment, waiting, before he realized she didn't know what to do.

"Pour some of that on it." He said

She did so and he winced as she dug the bullet out and began pouring nectar on it, making it begin to close instantly. He grimaced as he moved his shoulder back and forth, getting the blood flowing through it again. He sat down on the edge of Amber's bed and tried to regain his bearings, to no avail.

"I almost shot back, but I don't have regular bullets, I should keep at least one clip on me." Raven said

Suddenly, he looked sick. He grabbed the trashcan and threw up into it, making violent retching sounds. I sat back down, waiting for him to finish. Eventually, he finally did and he stood, making his way over to his bed at the other end of the room.

"I'm going to bed," He said "Unless you need anything?"

I shook my head and he laid down in his bed and rolled over. Everybody went back to laying down or sitting on their beds, and I found myself playing a familiar lullaby on my leer, one the Fates had written years before I had been born, and then I found myself singing it was well. My mother used to sing it to me, and I had remembered it for years.

_Be still my son, be still my son_

_The moon lives in your blood_

_And on the day you face your death_

_Remember from whence you came_

_When you inhale your final breath_

_Call upon thy name_

_I sing to you this lullaby to ease you into sleep_

_One day, my warrior, I hope you'll make us proud_

_And when you die, be sure this world will weep_

_For the son of moon who hath been lain down_

_We honor your forever on the day we burn your shroud_

_The son of the huntress, born of a broken vow_

**Hey guys. Sorry, I know this chapter was kind of slow going, but I promise, next chapter is when it really picks up. Also, please review, flames are acceptable, however, I am declaring the moonlight's lullaby off limits, don't hate on that, hate on everything but that, I spent four hours writing that song. Anyways, I don't own Percy Jackson or anyone associated, blah blah blah blah blah peace out see ya'll in chapter seven.**


	7. We need a quest

**Hey guys, welcome back. So after a little bit of consideration, I have decided that the lullaby that Artemis sang in the last chapter is going to have a big roll to play later on in the story. So small spoiler. Thanks to Rhino12345 for being the first to review, Appreciate it. But anyways, I don't own Percy Jackson and all that shit. So ladies and gentleman, I give you, chapter seven.**

Chapter 7: We need a quest

Percy:

Annabeth, Frank, Chiron, and I all hurried to the Artemis cabin, praying we weren't too late. A hunter had come to us, early in the morning, screaming for help. I asked her what was wrong, and then she completely broke down in tears.

"Lady Artemis is gone," She screamed, crying "And there's ichor all over the bed."

We entered the cabin to find all of the hunters standing around the bed where I guess Artemis had been. They moved aside and we all stared. The sheets were soaked in golden ichor, the blood of the gods, and a hunting knife was laying on the bed. One that looked like Artemis's knife, and it was dripping ichor. It looked like a murder scene, and I might've assumed it was, if gods could die. I looked over at Raven. He looked like I had felt when I found out my dad had been taken, like he wanted to throw up and kill something all at the same time.

"Calm down," Chiron said "We must have a war council."

He looked over at Thalia. I wasn't sure how he could act so calm in a situation like this, someone had come into the camp, taken a goddess, and left without waking anybody. If anything, this was a great time to panic. Throw our arms up in the air, run around, riot, burn things. But if we did that, we would be easier to pick off, and I had a feeling that once all of the gods had been captured, whatever was taking them would be coming for us.

"Go and inform the rest of the senior counselors, we will have a war council in thirty minutes." He told Thalia

She nodded and dashed off, then Chiron turned to the hunters. Some of them were in too much shock to do anything, others had been completely reduced to tears. Raven was seated in his bed, stone faced, drinking from a Jagermeister bottle, his knuckles gripping it so tightly that they were beginning to turn white.

"The rest of you, pull yourselves together," Chiron said "We will find whoever did this."

And with that, he left the cabin in a hurry. We all stared around without any idea what to do, not sure if we should head with him or stay here and make sure the hunters were okay. I settled on checking out Raven first, since I already knew he was slightly emotionally unstable.

"It's ten in the morning." I said sitting down next to him

"So?" He said, glaring at me

"Well, isn't it considered too early to be drinking?" I asked him

"If you're mother had been taken from right under your nose, would there be such thing as too early?" He replied

"I don't really drink," I shrugged "But yeah, I'd probably be wasted by now."

"If I hadn't been drunk, I might've heard something." He said angrily

"Raven," Annabeth said soothingly "No one could've done anything, none of the hunters heard it, and they were all sober, you couldn't have done anything."

He nodded and seemed to calm down for the moment. He took another drink from the bottle before stuffing it back into his backpack and kicking it under the bed, laying his head back against the wall. I rose from his bed and figured I should go ahead and make my way to the big house. Frank had left with Chiron, so I knew he'd be there waiting for us.

"I'll see you at the meeting." I told Raven as I was leaving

"Wait, I'm going?" He asked

"Yeah, you're the only child of Artemis, that makes you the head counselor." I said

"I'll be there in a minute." Raven said, standing up

"I can't believe it, of all the goddesses to get captured, I thought Artemis would be one of the last." Annabeth said in disbelief as we left the cabin.

I nodded, thinking the same thing. Artemis was tough and fearless, and I thought she'd be among the last if she got taken at all. I found myself thinking of my father, being dragged away while his blood soaked the area he'd just been standing at, and my stomach churned. Annabeth and I entered the big house and found all of the other counselors already present. Raven and Thalia entered a few moments later, standing in the corner and speaking to nobody.

"Heroes, come to order," Chiron said "Let us begin."

The buzz of conversation died down and everyone stared at Chiron. He cleared his throat and prepared to deliver perhaps some of the most shocking news he'd ever had to give in his whole entire life, to a group of temperamental, on edge, wired up demigods. That's enough to drive anybody crazy just thinking about it.

"We are here to discuss the recent developments in the kidnapping of the gods." He said

"Who is it this time?" Conner Stoll asked

"Artemis." He said

Every single mouth dropped.

"But," Clarisse said "That's impossible, she was here last night."

"She was taken in the middle of the night, none of us heard a thing." Raven said

Everyone looked up at him, as if just realizing he was there. He had a certain aura about him, one that made everybody shut up and listen. Although Raven hadn't been here long, he had a personality that commanded attention and respect, something we were happy to oblige to him so he wouldn't beat it into us. I had seen Raven get into a few scraps since he'd arrived, and I wasn't eager to be his opponent in the next one.

"Not a thing?" Leo asked

"No." Thalia said

"Seems a bit suspicious," Will Solace said "Athena goes missing, Raven shows up, more gods go missing, then Artemis goes missing when she is right next to Raven."

It happened faster than any of us could follow. In an instant, Raven had shot across the room, dragged Will out of his chair, slammed him against the wall, and put his gun to Will's chin. Will's eyes got wide, because he knew Raven wasn't above putting his brains on the wall, but he wasn't about to let Raven know that.

"ARE YOU CALLING ME A TRAITOR?" Raven screamed in his face

"You won't shoot." Will challenged

A clicking sound told the room that Raven had cocked his gun. The entire room went silent, waiting for somebody to make a move. Some of the campers had pulled their own weapons and were standing, waiting for a fight.

"Are you prepared to test that theory?" Raven growled "I'm a lot of things, but a traitor is not one of them. I know who my friends are, and I know who my enemies are."

"Raven, let him go." Chiron said slowly

Raven yanked Will off of the wall and threw him across the room. He put his gun back into his waistband, as did everybody else. Raven turned and eyes the rest of the room, as if sizing up how many bodies he would be leaving.

"And that goes for the rest of you," He spat at the rest of the room "Next person to call me a traitor, I will put a bullet in your head and I won't lose a bit of sleep over it."

And with that, he sank back to his corner. Chiron cleared his throat as the situation defused and everybody relaxed, knowing that nobody was about to get their brains blown out.

"Okay, everyone needs to calm down." Chiron said

"We need a quest." Frank said

"No." Chiron answered flatly

Raven spoke up again, this time he sounded very deathly angry. I wondered if he might pull his gun on Chiron this time, but he made no such move. Only leaned against the corner beside Thalia, with his arms crossed and a glare stuck to his face.

"When whoever is taking gods can just walk into the camp, take a goddess and walk out without making a sound, it's time for a quest." He said

This was met with approval from every counselor present, even Annabeth. I agreed with Raven too, it _was _time for a quest. If we didn't send somebody soon, we could be next on the target list, and I didn't want that to happen. Somebody needed to go and figure everything out.

"We'll need a prophecy," he said "And heroes to undertake the challenge.

All eyes turned to Rachel. She hadn't been paying attention. She was playing with one of the ping pong balls, bouncing it up and down off the table. After a second, she realized that everyone was watching her.

"What, you think I can just spit out a prophecy whenever I want to?" She demanded "It takes-"

She stopped suddenly and began levitating, her eyes glowing. Whatever it took, it had it. Rachel was possessed by the Oracle, and any moment now, she would be giving the prophecy we needed. After that, it was up to us to find some demigods crazy enough to take on the challenge.

_Three hunters and the great seven, led by the moonlight's child_

_Shall go forth and enter the forbidden isle_

_The first of many enemies to rise_

_Revenge taken, after one dies_

_The son of moon will face the pit_

_His fallen brothers called to assist_

_The first chapter shall be written, but many more to come_

_The rising of a fallen king at the spilling of blood_

She collapsed and two demigods caught her, standing her up as her eyes fluttered open, confused. She glanced around trying to regain her bearings, but once she did so she stood on her own. Chiron recited the prophecy for her and she thought for a moment.

"Ugh," She said "Sounds like fun guys."

"Well, who all is going?" Annabeth asked

"Three hunters for sure."Thalia said

"And the moonlight's child," I noted "That could be Raven."

"Of course," Raven grumbled "Why should I get to sit out while everybody else fights the unspeakably dangerous unknown?"

"I actually do agree with Raven," Thalia said "He doesn't have enough training for this."

"So we'll train him," I said "The prophecy very clearly says he is part of the group going to figure this whole thing out."

"Well what about the great seven then?" Frank asked "Who are they? They couldn't be-"

"Us." Annabeth said quietly

"The great seven, that makes sense." Lou Ellen said

"Yeah," Travis said "The seven of the last great prophecy."

"Gods," Clovis said "Eleven demigods? That's going to smell really good to monsters."

"Well I could rebuild the Argo II," Leo offered "Take maybe three months, but it could get us to wherever the forbidden isle is."

"That'll work," Frank said "One thing though, what is the forbidden isle?"

"Tartarus," Chiron said "The pit itself. It is forbidden to enter, not that anybody is crazy enough to try."

"Oh boy," Raven said "I love breaking laws.

"There's a secret door over Death Valley in California," Nico spoke up "It should open up once you hit it, and you'd have to try to miss it if you're flying a giant warship, and even then you'd probably still hit it."

"We can also assume that Tartarus is the one taking the gods," Chiron said "Which means he will be there, and that you may be forced to face him in combat."

"We-we have to go back there?" Annabeth asked, sounding absolutely terrified

I put my arm around her, holding her close. We had spent nearly a week down there once, and that was enough for eternity for me. Even I could tell Annabeth and I were not the same people who we had been before we fell through that floor, but I wasn't eager to return. Tartarus knew who we were, he had attempted to kill us both, and I was sure he remembered us.

"I wouldn't make you go back unless it was absolutely necessary," Chiron said "But it appeared that these are extreme circumstances Annabeth, I have no doubt you will get the job done."

"I'll go," Annabeth said "But don't expect me to like it."

"I'm in." I said

"Me too." Frank said

"I'm down," Leo said "Could be fun, will be deadly."

"Oh fine," Thalia said "I'll go."

"Alright, fuck it," Raven said "Yolo or whatever."

"You'll also have to notify the rest of the seven," Chiron said "Raven, the prophecy has stated that you will lead this quest, are you up for the task?"

"Do I have a choice?" Raven asked

"Not really." Chiron admitted

"Then I got it," Raven shrugged "Worst case scenario, we all die."

"Yes, that would be worst case," Chiron said "Somebody will need to contact Jason, Piper, and Hazel."

Jason, Piper, and Hazel had gone back to camp Jupiter last night. I made a mental note to send an Iris Message to them after this was done, then I silently cursed myself, remembering my promise to send Carter one if I found anything out. I knew he would want to be in on this, to find his sister. I had found out so much and forgot to contact him. Chiron adjourned the meeting and I raced back to my cabin to contact Carter and tell him everything I knew.

"Oh Iris, goddess of the the rainbow, accept my offering." I said, grabbing a coin and tossing it into the spring "Show me Carter Kane in Brooklyn, New York."

An image started to form of Carter sitting alone on a balcony, sipping on a Coke and lost in thought. He stared out over the Brooklyn skyline, clearly not noticing me. I cleared my throat, but he still didn't turn. I couldn't believe anybody who was a demigod or a magician or anybody in so much danger as we are could be this oblivious when somebody just appeared behind them.

"Carter." I said from behind him

"Holy shit." He said, spitting out his Coke

It was pretty entertaining to see it traveling down the balcony at high speed, and I had to laugh. Carter turned around and glared at me while I cracked up.

"Don't do that to me," He said "You nearly gave me a heart attack."

"Sorry," I laughed "I didn't realize you were that jumpy."

"It comes with the profession," He said, sitting down "I assume you're contacting me because you know something."

"Yeah, I actually do," I told him "I know where they're going, and I know who is taking them."

"You do?" Carter asked, standing up

"Yeah," I said "It's a long story, so I hope you have time."

"I have nothing but time," Carter said "Go ahead."

"About a week ago, this kid named Raven showed up, turned out to be a son of Artemis," I began "The day that I contacted you, he showed up in the middle of our call. He was taken to Olympus, while he was there, a cultist attempted to assassinate him, he was a servant of Tartarus. You know who that is right?"

"Yeah," Carter said "Ancient pit where Greek monsters go when they die right?"

"Yeah," I said "Okay, well the hunters that escorted him told us all about it when they got back, then a few more gods went missing. Poseidon, Hera, and Artemis, right inside the camp. Last night, while everybody was sleeping, she was taken right out of the cabin. We just had a meeting, and we've organized a quest, one that Raven is leading."

"And you're going to find the gods and my sister?" Carter guessed "I want in."

"Are you sure?" I asked him "Carter, I don't think you understand how dangerous this is going to be."

"I understand," Carter said "Call me when you get close, I'm going to be bringing a friend."

"Alright, I'll keep you posted." I told him

Carter nodded, and I swiped my hand through the transmission. I decided to go find Raven, seeing as somebody needed to train him, I figured I should at least offer him what I know.

Raven:

Thalia and I walked back to the cabin discussing who we would take. Since I was a son of Artemis, they all considered me a fully fledged member of the hunt, weather they liked me or not. So Thalia decided that whoever came with us would be both our decisions.

"Amber," She was saying "I think this could be a good learning experience for her, she's pretty new."

Of all the hunters, I had grown closest to Amber in the past few days, and I felt immediately protective of her as soon as Thalia mentioned her name. It's not that I doubted her ability to handle herself, hell she'd given me a black eye a few days ago during a sparring session, but I didn't want to put her in intentional danger.

"Well, this is a really dangerous quest," I pointed out "Shouldn't we bring along a more experienced hunter?"

"Experienced?" Thalia laughed "I'll let that slide because you haven't been here long enough to know everyone, but Amber is one of our best."

I didn't have a good answer as to why Amber couldn't go, and Thalia wasn't lying, she could kick some serious ass, mine included. I struggled for a moment but finally resigned to defeat.

"Alright," I said "Amber comes. What about a healer?"

"Jennifer," Thalia said immediately "She's the best healer we have, and she's a badass with a bow."

"Aren't you all supposed to be?" I asked

"Well yeah, but she's especially up there." Thalia shrugged

I stayed quiet as we entered the Artemis cabin, which immediately erupted as soon as we walked in. Despite how we tried, Thalia and I couldn't get them to calm down long enough for us to tell them anything. Eventually, everything died down and Thalia and I told them what had happened at the meeting.

"We're going to take Jennifer and Amber," Thalia said "We will get Lady Artemis back, and the rest of the gods."

"How are you going to get there?" Maya asked

"Leo is rebuilding the Argo," I explained "We'll set out as soon as it's done."

"How long will it take?" Amber asked

"Who knows?" Thalia said "A few months maybe."

The hunter's all accepted what we said, and gave no further objection. I knew some of them felt it was smarter to just take the entire hunt and go search for them, but questioning anything Thalia said wasn't a smart move for any of them, that was quickly learned.

"If there's nothing further to discuss," I said "I think I'll go enjoy some quality alone time."

"I'm giving you a hunter escort," Thalia said "Whatever took your mother may come for you next."

"Don't even think about it," I said as she opened her mouth to call out a name "I said alone, and I meant _alone_."

"Raven-" She began, but I cut her off

"Thalia, it's broad fucking daylight," I argued "Nobody would be crazy enough to try that during the daytime, I won't go outside the borders."

Before Thalia could argue, I walked out of the cabin. I didn't want to have hunters following me around everywhere I went, mostly because I could handle myself. I wasn't paying attention and I ended up bumping into Percy, who seemed like he was in a hurry.

"Heading somewhere?" I asked him, pulling him up

"To find you actually," Percy laughed "To offer my assistance."

"In what exactly?" I asked him

"Well," He shrugged "You've got a sword, I figure I can help you learn a little bit about that."

"Swinging sharp objects at high speeds?" I asked "I'm in."

Percy laughed, and the two of us made our way to the sword arena. It wasn't far from the cabin area, so it didn't take us long to reach it. There wasn't very many people there when we arrived, so Percy set straight to work, making sure he had plenty of room to knock me around.

"Ready?" He asked, pulling a pen out of his pocket

At first, I wasn't sure what he was going to do with a pen, then I remembered that I had a lighter in my pocket and probably shouldn't judge other people's choice of magical weapons. I responded by pulling out my lighter and flicking it, letting the wicked looking blade extend in my hand. It felt so perfectly balanced, like it was made for me to wield it.

"Woah," Percy said, pulling the cap off his pen and letting it grow into his sword "Freaky looking sword."

"Ain't it?" I laughed

"Okay, well I guess first we should figure out where you're at," Percy said "Let's spar until one of us can disarm the other."

I didn't think I would last very long, but I nodded. Percy raised his sword and moved in, trying to end it quickly. My instincts took over from there, like a voice directing my every move. I blocked Percy's first strike and retaliated with my own, which threw Percy off for a second. He parried and struck back, attempting to get inside my guard, but I kept him out. He took a swing at me again, and this time I slammed his blade to the side, and came in full force. That's where I messed up though, Percy had been counting on me to lose patience with waiting for him to wear down, and I had just let him inside my guard. He slashed at me, letting me catch the blade, then he pushed down to my hilt and the blade dropped from my hand.

"You're good," Percy said "But sloppy, no technique. You're predictable, like you only know a handful of moves."

"So you're going to teach me more moves?" I guessed

"Yep." He said, swinging his blade at me

Amber:

I kept busy over the next few weeks, mostly teaching Raven how to read. I had made good on my promise to help him, and he had progressed quicker than I would have thought. I knew he was embarrassed by the fact that he couldn't read, and he was eager to learn. Whenever he wasn't training, we were tracing words in the sand. First, I taught him how to write his name, then we moved on to other words. He was quick to catch on once you showed him what to do, which I was grateful for. I'm not known as a patient person, and teaching a fifteen year old gang member how to read requires a lot of patience, but it helps when he catches on quicker than most. Even through the dyslexia, we could make out words if we concentrated, but his dyslexia wasn't as bad as most demigods, which made it much easier on me.

"Okay, A-M-B-E-R, what's that spell?" I asked, tracing the letters in the sand

"Uhhhhhh," He said, concentrating "Amber?"

"Right," I said "Good, now you try writing it."

He traced the letters shakily, trying to match what I had drawn. His handwriting wasn't the best, but he didn't care about that, quite frankly, neither did I. Once he finished, he sat back, admiring the word. His forehead was beaded with sweat from concentrating so hard, and it was beginning to get dark.

"Why don't we call it a night?" I asked him "You've gotten much better."

"I want a cookie." Raven laughed, standing up

"Yeah, let me get right on that." I joked

"No for real," He said "I could go get a box, Travis and Conner sneak them in all the time. Only problem is they want moral money and not Drachmas."

"How do you even get them?" I asked him "You've got a ton of Drachmas, where do you get them?"

"I sell weed around the camp," He shrugged "Don't ask where I get it, but I sell it around camp all the time. I think I might start taking it into the city and getting mortal money out of it too."

"Does Chiron know?" I asked

"Oh I'm sure he does," Raven shrugged "Not much gets by the old man, I'll give him that. But as long as I'm not selling pills or meth or something, I don't think he'll say anything. Besides, what's the worse that happens? Everybody gets really high and breaks into the kitchen and eats all the food?"

"Then goes to take a seven hour nap." I laughed

"Gods, that sounds fantastic right now." He said

"Well it's like seven thirty," I said "If you passed out now it'd be morning when you woke up."

He fell silent as the conversation died, and he seemed lost in thought. When we arrived back at the cabin, there were no other hunters inside. I figured they were all down at dinner, most likely waiting on us. Tonight was capture the flag, something Raven still had yet to participate in.

"Thanks." He said, sitting down on his bed

"For what?" I asked, confused

"For helping me," He said "I've always been kind of embarrassed by the fact I couldn't read. Most of the guys back in Brooklyn couldn't read very well, but they could at least read if they wanted to. I only ever went to school to keep the feds off our backs, seeing as I was adopted and they tended to keep an eye on high risk teens. I usually made alright grades because I paid somebody to do my homework, or to let me copy of their tests."

"What about the standardized state tests?" I asked him

"Most of those weren't for our actual grades," I shrugged "So fuck em."

"Gods I hated those," I said "They weren't meant for people with dyslexia."

"Yeah, they weren't," Raven said "I always had to sit there and look like I was doing it for a bit, and one time I actually tried to take it for real, but the words started bleeding together, so I just guessed and handed it in."

"Most of the time, the teacher would help me read the questions," I laughed "I made mostly A's and B's, if you could believe it."

We laughed together for a minute, and I realized I had sat down next to him. When we finally stopped laughing, we sat in silence for a moment. I realized Raven was staring at me, and I looked up to make eye contact with him. It was almost too late before I realized I was leaning, and so was he.

"I'm sorry," I said, standing up "I can't."

"Yeah," He said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head "I know, I just-"

He trailed off, leaving his thought unfinished. I wondered what he was thinking, and if I was thinking the same thing. I wasn't allowed to fall in love, so why did I feel so strongly towards Raven? I had known him for almost a month, but I felt like I had known him my whole life. I didn't want to give up being a Hunter for somebody to turn around and stab me in the back, especially somebody I would end up spending a lot of time with. I knew Raven wasn't the type of person to do that, but people change, as do their feelings to another person. I was jarred from my thoughts as I heard a horn sound, and I immediately knew what it was for.

"Are you ready?" I asked him, grabbing my bow

"For what?" He asked me

"Capture the flag." I said, grinning

**Ey ey ey, thanks for coming. Not much to say, God bless ya'll and I love ya, hit that review button and let's GOOOOO!**


	8. The fallen huntress

**So welcome to chapter 8, there isn't much to be said so I'll get straight into it.**

Chapter 8: The fallen huntress

Raven:

We stood by the creek, waiting to hear the horn sound and begin the game. The teams had already been drawn and the hunters had been busy making alliances. Poseidon, Artemis (Including the hunters since they would be severely outnumbered now), Hermes, Ares, Hades, Hecate, Athena, Nemesis, Nike, Aphrodite, Iris, and Hypnos against everybody else. Percy had told me that the camp was a lot bigger than it used to be, and the games were much more difficult now when each side had overwhelming numbers. The horn sounded and we set off, heading straight into the woods. Annabeth had laid out a plan, which we all gladly followed.

"There's the horn!" Percy yelled "First wave follow me!"

A battle cry erupted as Percy led is into the woods, nearly four hundred some of us. I could hear the other team in front of us and soon our cries and yells were drowned out by the sound of swords colliding and demigods waging war with eachother. I blocked a blade and kicked the demigod to his back, then elbowed another one. I saw the hunters moving in the trees and firing down into the crowd of enemy demigods, who were finally catching onto the ambush.

"IN THE TREES!" Somebody yelled "THEY'RE IN THE TREES!"

The battle was lost for them quickly as the began to fall back, knowing they were outmatched. Percy waved for us to go after them, which we gladly accepted. I caught one kid and shouldered him to the ground, and then I kept running. Just as we started to overtake the other team, another hundred or so of them joined in the fight from seemingly out of nowhere. I wondered if Annabeth had been given the distraction she needed, because the entire plan hinged on it.

Amber:

"Okay, sounds like the fighting has started," Nico said "What now?"

"You're up Nico," Annabeth said "Don't forget, we can't be too close."

"I've got it, I've got it." Nico said

Annabeth, Nico, Connor and Travis Stoll, and I took hands, and Nico went into shadow travel. It made me nauseous, and when we came out of it I almost threw up. Connor and Travis were ecstatic, begging Nico to do it again, and Nico and Annabeth looked like they did something like that everyday, and for all I knew, they probably did.

"That was not fun." I said, recovering myself

"You'll get used to it." Nico grinned

"Like Hades I will." I grumbled

"Come on," Annabeth whispered "I hear fighting, we have to move."

The five of us ran up the lines, avoiding patrols as we went. We got busted by the fourth and were forced to fight our way out of it, which wasn't hard. There was ten of them, and I jumped right in with no thought to it. I kicked one in the head, knocking him out. I caught the blade of another as he swung, and he tried to parry my knives, using his longer blade to his advantages. I swept his sword aside and kneed him in the guy, doubling him over and planted a foot to the side of his head.

"Take her down!" One of them yelled

He tried to rush me, but before he could do anything, Connor and Travis swept his off his feet, and he tumbled down the hill. The others were subdued, and we had no time to waste. Our team was outnumbered, the longer we took, the slimmer our chances got.

"Let's go!" Annabeth yelled, taking off

We took off after her, and the sounds of battle were beginning to get closer. I was pondering if maybe we had pushed them back, and then hundreds of demigods suddenly appeared in the treeline, in a panicked retreat.

Percy:

I swept Riptide down and knocked an enemy camper away from me, running with the rest of my team.

"We're routed!" I yelled "Call in the second wave! Retreat!"

Suddenly, I saw Annabeth and the rest of the flag team standing in the clearing, right in the path of the retreating demigods. I ran to her as she pushed away another demigod, kicking him into the ravine. She gave me a grin as I parried a sword and sent that demigod tumbling after his comrade.

"Is this part of your plan I hope?" I asked her

"Of course it is!" She responded indignantly, knocking down another demigod

"We've done our part!" Annabeth told the others "Let's go!"

"You've got the flag?" I asked her

"Nope." She said, turning to run

"But that-" I began

"Percy, just trust me!" She interrupted "Raven's on it!"

"Raven?" I asked

"Yeah, I took him aside just before the game began!" She explained, still running "If everything has gone to plan, and it has, he's broken away from the battle and behind enemy lines and should be nearing the flag!"

"Why didn't you just say that to us all?" I demanded

"Percy, the enemy is expecting me to be leading a team to find the flag!" She yelled "Just trust me, Athena always has a plan!"

Raven:

I sprinted through the woods, my hunter's sense guiding me. I was surprised at how easily running through the woods was, and how I could almost feel the life force of the forest. I skirted around a large patrol, without even making a sound. I sprinted as fast I could, keeping my breathing even. I slowed down as I sensed a large mass of people just a head, and I ducked down behind a fallen tree.

"What have we here?" I muttered

I peered out into the clearing at Zeus's fist, where the majority of the enemy team was stationed. There were guards making rounds all about the edge of the forest, and the enemy flag was planted right on top of the pile of rocks. Instantly, a plan began to form in my head. Annabeth had instructed me to break away and get the flag myself, claiming that the enemy would be expecting her to be going for it, but not me. As one of the guards passed me, I reached down and broke a twig, making a loud enough noise to make sure he'd hear me.

"Huh?" He asked, startled

He made his way back into the bushes where I was waiting, not smart. I reached out and pulled him through and over the fallen trunk, he was wearing a helmet, which was all I needed to hide my face.

"Sorry about this fam." I said, slamming him down

His head bounced off the trunk and he was knocked unconscious, and I took his helmet. It fit good and I hadn't made a dent in the back, so I could avoid suspicious a lot easier. I had to get close to the flag, and I needed to make a distraction. Another plan began forming, both far fetched and crazy stupid, but it I knew it was worth the shot.

"THEY'RE COMING!" I yelled, breaking out of the forest "WE'RE OUTNUMBERED! THEY'RE CLOSING IN!"

Everybody immediately bought it, and if everything had gone to Annabeth's plan, the entire team was moving in on the flag. I raced through the panicked demigods as they ran into the woods, grabbing weapons and preparing to meet the enemy. Nobody recognized me since I had the helmet on, which made it easy for me for to go right through their lines. I found myself on top of Zeus's fist, almost alone except for a few demigods who stayed behind to guard it. I took the chance, and I scrambled onto the rocks. The only guard by the flag didn't notice me until I kicked him from behind, knocking him down. I grabbed the flag and took off after the enemy demigods.

"HEY!" One of the kids yelled

I drew my sword and stuffed the flag into the sleeve of my hoodie, and joined up with the enemy team. I heard the sounds of swords and I smiled, everything was going perfect. I threw my helmet off as soon as I got close to my team, and turned on the enemy demigods. I kicked one away and then joined up with my team, led by Percy, Thalia, and Annabeth.

"YOU GOT IT?" Thalia asked

"IN MY SLEEVE!" I yelled back

"RETREAT!" Percy yelled "WE'VE GOT THE FLAG! FALL BACK TO THE CREEK!"

A cheer rose up from our team and we began our withdraw, moving as quick as we could. The other team chased us, but with the flag hidden, the weren't able to figure out exactly who had it. I grinned in spite of myself, Athena really did always have a plan, and a plan within the plan, and a backup plan for damn near anything that could go wrong.

"THE CREEK!" Annabeth yelled "RAVEN GO!"

I let the flag drop from my sleeve and I held it up, sprinting towards the creek. My team fell in around my to protect me, and Chiron stood on top of the hill just beyond the creek, his horn ready. It blew the second I crossed over, and the entire blue team erupted into cheers. The flag in my hands changed from the color of the Nyx cabin into a silvery fabric with a crescent moon on it, below that was written a single word, Artemis. I was grabbed up and lifted onto everyone's soldiers, and the cheers turned to chanting.

"RAVEN! RAVEN! RAVEN!" They chanted "RAVEN! RAVEN! RAVEN! RAVEN! RAVEN!"

I held the flag up in the air and laughed as they chanted my name, I was a hero to these guys, and despite my modest attitude, I actually kinda of enjoyed it.

Thalia:

"Amazing!" I laughed as we made out way back to cabin eight "Brilliant, Raven! Bloody freaking brilliant!"

"Actually it was Annabeth's plan." Raven responded, but he was smiling

"I still can't believe the thought the Athena cabin will put into a plan." Amber said, shaking her head

"They _never _expected that Raven would go for the flag!" Maya laughed "And you gave that kid from the Nyx cabin a concussion, brilliant!"

It seemed, for a moment at least, all of the hunters were okay with Raven. I was glad that the rest of the hunt was finally warming up to him, beginning to see him as their brother instead of some mistake our mistress had made.

"Did you see their faces?" Jennifer asked, giggling "They didn't even know what hit them!"

The Hunters all dissolved into gleeful laughter, drunk off the pure irony of the victory. How stupid the plan seemed and yet how brilliantly it worked, then again that was how most capture the flag games went. You thought you had it won and then Athena pulled something from their asses.

Amber:

The victory was short lived, as the loss of Lady Artemis soon came back to us all after the euphoria wore off. Raven did his best to keep our spirits up, but it didn't help much. I still helped him read, and a few kids from the Hecate cabin were teaching him to hone the silver light he had shot from his hands, and he was now able to do it on command, Percy taught him swordplay, and Thalia would take him out to the forest for hours at a time, and nobody knew what they did, not even the hunters.

"What's wrong?" Raven asked me one night as we were drawing letters in the sande

"Nothing," I cover quickly "Why do you ask?"

"You spelled Annabeth's name wrong," He said "Look, you wrote A-N-A-B-A-B-E-T-H. Something's wrong, you've never spelled anything wrong before."

I had spelled it wrong, but that wasn't what had tipped Raven off. It was the way I had acted when he asked, it had been a dead giveaway. I had answered quickly and refused to look him in the eye, maybe he couldn't read or spell very well, but he wasn't stupid. Some of the kids at camp made fun of him for the way he talked, the way he pronounced some words. I hadn't thought about the fact he couldn't read until he had said so, but once he had I started to notice the way he pronounced some words, as though he had to sound them out in his head before he said them.

"It's my mother isn't it?" Raven asked "You're scared for her?"

"It's not just that," I said "In the past few weeks Lord Apollo has been taken too, as well as Aphrodite, Hermes, Ares, Hades, and Hestia. This whole situation isn't exactly what I'd call calming."

He shrugged and lit a cigarette, laying back to take a break. I hadn't thought about it since it had happened, but I found myself remembering when Raven and I had almost kissed. I felt something pushing me towards him, and I was resisting with everything I had. I wasn't supposed to fall in love, but I was, and I couldn't decide if I liked it or not.

"Do you think you'll be prepared for whatever is taking the gods?" I asked him, pushing the thought aside

"No," He said quietly "I'm not ready, I don't think there's really any possible way to prepare for it. But I'll fight to my dying breath if I have to."

"Spoken just like a son of Artemis." I laughed

"What do you mean?" He laughed "I'm the only son of Artemis."

"Well then," I grinned "Spoken like a son of Artemis should speak."

"There ya go." He laughed

We sat in silence, enjoying the night sky. I glanced over at Raven, realizing he had a very slight glow around him. It was a full moon out, and it was pulsing from him. He seemed to not notice it for a moment, but then he caught me staring at him.

"What?" He asked

"You're ummm glowing." I said

"Oh," He said in surprise, looking down "So I am."

"It's the moon," I said gently "It's giving you your powers. It's beautiful."

He raised his hand and it blazed with silver light, licking around his wrist and hand like silver flames. He stared at it, and I noticed it seemed much brighter than it had before. He had a glint in his eyes, like hope. He was slowly realizing his true potential as a demigod, as a son of the greatest huntress ever known.

"Amber?" He asked

"Hmm?" I replied, still absorbed in the moonlight coming from hand

"Why aren't you allowed to fall in love?" He asked

I was pulled into reality when he asked that, rather harshly I might add. I paused before I answered, because I had also been wondering that recently. More profoundly so after Raven had shown up, I had begun to wonder why we were required to follow an oath Lady Artemis had broken, something she had cast hunters away for several times since Raven's birth. I realized Raven was still waiting for me to answer him, and I felt my cheeks become red.

"Because, if we fall in love, it can corrupt us," I explained, doubting the very words I spoke "We begin not putting our duty first."

"Do you believe that?" He asked me, sitting up "Or is that just what you've drilled yourself to think?"

"Can I tell you a secret?" I asked him

He nodded, and I leaned in close to him, next to his ear. I paused before I spoke, thinking very seriously about what I was going to say, how I would word it. I was about to say something that could very well get me mugged by the rest of the hunters if they ever found out I said it.

"All hunters eventually fall," I told him "Weather it be to death, or love, we all fall, somehow."

"Are you-" He began

"I'm not saying anything," I cut him off "Am I confused about these feelings? Yes. But I just don't-"

"I'm confused too," He said quietly "Amber, I really am confused. You're the daughter of the goddess of love, so what do we do?"

"Love doesn't just vanish," I told him "Not that we're in love, it's just..."

"Just what?" He asked "A spell maybe?"

"No," I answered, still close to him "If my mother was going to force me to...feel this way about anybody, it wouldn't be the son of the goddess she hates most."

"Then what?" He asked me

I didn't respond, but neither of us moved. We were only an inch away from eachother's faces, I could feel his breath on my skin. I looked into his eyes, and I felt him. His very soul was opened to me, the world of pain hidden in those silver eyes, the small sliver of innocence, all the tears he never cried, the pain he had to feel, I saw it all. I knew he was feeling the same thing looking into my eyes, seeing the very being of who I was. I was completely lost in his eyes, like they were pulling me in. I realized that both of us were leaning, and this time I didn't try and stop it. I felt his lips touch mine gently, carefully, as though he was afraid that I may break. My stomach fluttered and, despite myself, I smiled.

**And for those of ya'll who've been face palming for the past few chapters, badabing badaboom there ya go. So hit that review button and let's get cracking bang bang AHHHHHH! God bless, love ya'll.**


	9. Dark side of the moon

**Okay guys. I'm back. Now in addition to this, I'm now working on the first chapter of a fanfic for The Sisters Grimm by Micheal Buckely (Sorry if I misspelled that) By the way, if you haven't read The Sisters Grimm, I very highly recommend it. Probably one of the best book's I've ever read. So I would urge you to give it a read. Especially before you read my fan fiction because most of it won't even make sense. Have not decided on a name. But I'll keep you guys up to speed on that one. So now back to our eleven heroes. Last we saw them they were taking off one more time for an epic adventure. I know I'm slow, it took nine chapters for them to actually get going. But it's all good. They're gone now, and ready to fight. Or as ready as you can be when you're going to fight the god of the pit. So as usual, I don't own Percy Jackson, please review, flames and suggestions accepted. And to everyone who has stayed tuned in, thank you. Oh and btw, quick warning, Amber sees some of Raven's memories and the last one is REALLY fucked up, so please if you cannot handle shit like that, don't read it. Like if you got a little squeamish playing the mission on gta5 where Trevor shatters that dude's kneecaps and rips out his teeth and shocks him and stuff because they're looking for a dude, then you probably should skip when you get to the part I am referring to in this chapter.**

Chapter 9: Dark side of the moon

Raven:

It was mid July when we finally left, July seventeenth to be more specific. The rest of the gods had been rounded up and taken, Zeus being the final one. He had guards around him at all hours, but they had all been found slaughtered, and Zeus was missing. Amber and I hadn't talked much since that kiss, and I knew it was bugging her. She had kissed a boy, not only a boy, but the son of Artemis. My mom would be livid pissed when she found out, and I knew she would. Thalia had noticed something was up, but she said nothing, not during the time I trained, not during the meeting where Leo announced that the Argo III was officially finished, and not as we boarded and left, not a word. Jennifer, on the other hand, wasn't so quiet about it.

"So what happened?" She asked me one night as we sat on guard duty

We had left a few hours earlier, and had already crossed from New York into Pennsylvania. The others were sleeping below deck, except for Leo who insisted he pilot the ship until he physically could not stay awake.

"What do you mean?" I asked her

"You and Amber," She said "Something happened between you two."

"What makes you say that?" I asked, getting nervous

"Oh come on," She said, exasperated "_All_ the hunters can tell it, there's something between you two, something you're hiding from the rest of us."

"Why do you think that?" I asked her

"Because I just know, Raven," She said "My gods, you're confirming it the more you act like you have no idea what I'm talking about. What, did you two kiss or something?"

I said nothing, and she immediately knew she had hit the spot. I heard her gasp of surprise when I didn't respond, but I just kept staring straight ahead, like I was completely oblivious to her. But it was too late, I might as well have just said it.

"You didn't?" She asked, disbelief in her voice

"Jennifer please," I begged her "Don't say anything. I don't know what happened, but Amber needs time to figure it out. My mother will figure it out eventually, but for now, I'd like to just leave it alone like it never happened."

"I won't tell Thalia or Lady Artemis," She said "But you do realize the amount of trouble Amber will be in when Lady Artemis finds out, don't you?"

"Of course I do," I said "But I don't want to take this away from her, so I'll keep it from my mother as long as I can. And when she does find out, hopefully she'll be lenient considering she did much worse."

"I'm sure she'll take that into thought," Jennifer said "But trust me, she'll still banish her from the hunt. She has to, even if she doesn't want to."

"I know." I said, my mind reeling

Amber:

Raven was in my dreams that night. His memories, not he himself. It started pleasant enough, just a talk between me and my mother.

"Amber." A voice whispered as I drifted into sleep

"Who-?" I began, but the voice cut me off

"Oh come now child," It said as a woman came into view "Do you really not recognize your own mother."

We were sitting below a beautiful spruce tree, on a hilltop overlooking a meadow. The woman in front of me, my mother, was dressed in a simple, red, satin gown. Her hair was perfect, her makeup, her everything. She was stunning, beautiful, any word you can think of.

"Sorry," I said "But I only saw you for a moment or two during the trial when you tried to have Raven executed."

"Oh please," She laughed "I am only looking out for the age of Olympus. The death of that boy will spare us a lot of trouble."

"What kind of trouble?" I asked, curious

"All in due time," She said, sitting below the tree "I worked up a lot of energy for this, so we're going to sit down, talk, and not beat around the bush or play with small talk."

"What do you want to talk about?" I asked her, sitting down as well

"You kissed that boy," She said "The son of Artemis, why?"

"I don't know," I said quietly "Lady Artemis will be so angry, but I just couldn't help it."

"I feel love my daughter," She said "I know your feelings, do not fight it."

"The whole reason I joined the hunt was to get away from that!" I exclaimed "I've been hurt too many times by people I thought I could trust, I don't want to love."

"That is love my dear," She said, smiling sadly "To quote a favorite demigod of mine, Love is pain, love is butterflies and stomach aches, love is looking out a windowpane, tears dripping looking like you're in the rain, for somebody you don't even know for somebody you may never see again."

"Machine Gun Kelly is a demigod?" I asked

"Of course," She laughed "A son of Nemesis. His love life was very fun if I do say so myself."

"So what are you saying then?" I asked her

"I'm saying that we must often be hurt, almost so that we think of giving up love, before we find that one that is truly worth giving ourselves to." She said

"So you're saying leave the hunt for Raven?" I asked her

"I am saying nothing of the sort," She said "I don't like that boy, I think I've made that clear, he is nothing but a no good, two bit, gang banger who will leave you the second he loses interest."

"You can't possibly know that," I told her "Raven isn't like that."

"I am the embodiment of love my daughter," She said "I know these things. What I am saying, is that I want you to see who he is. I will show you two of his memories, the darkest, deepest, most vile sides of him, his two most painful memories, and if you still feel this way and you can still stomach the thought of being near him, then I will not interfere."

Before I could respond, everything went black. When the lights came back on, I was sitting in a car. A quick look around told me it was full of Crips, lead by Raven. I saw the two boys from Olympus, Free and Money, with two others inside an old car, seated outside a warehouse.

"I can't do this," Free said, shaking "I've got Teresa to think about, the baby, man I can't do this shit."

"Cool the fuck out," Raven said "We're dropping this shit, getting the money, and leaving."

"Remember what happened the last time we did that ese?" Money asked

"Nigga!" Free yelled at him "Not fucking helping."

"Sorry." Money said sheepishly

"Yo look dog," One of the other boys said "You'll get back, the boss said he'd let you out after this. Let's do this, and get home, Mama's making chili tonight, feeding the whole hood."

"Smoker, your ma's chili is the shit." The other boy said

They five boys laughed and clapped hands, and Free looked slightly more relaxed. He took a picture out of his pocket and looked at it, smiling as he did so. It was of him and another girl, kissing under a sign that said Happily ever after. The girl's belly was swollen, she was very clearly pregnant.

"Alright, there's the Albanians," Money said as a car pulled up in front of them "Smoker, Shade, you two stay behind me and Joker, Free you're bringing up the rear. Boss said they just got word that Tony was an undercover fed, they're working on getting to him, but the longer this drags out, the more danger we're in. Stay sharp, and if shit goes down, move fast homie."

"Crips for life." Smoker said as the boys stacked their hands on top of eachother's

"Crips for life." They all echoed

Raven opened his door, grabbed a backpack from the floorboard, and stepped out, the other boys following his lead. I slipped out with them, and they didn't even seem to notice I was there. Free stuck the picture back into his pocket and got out, bringing up the rear. All of the boys had guns drawn, and the doors on the car across from them were beginning to open, and men in suits were getting out, also carrying weapons.

"You weren't followed?" One of the men asked

"Not that we could see." Money shrugged

"Oh ain't that just reassuring." One of the guys muttered

"Look homie," Free said "Fuck small talk nigga, give them the shit and let's fucking go dude."

"First time?" One of the mobsters asked "He seems a bit nervous."

"Actually it's his last time," Raven said "Boss letting him out after this, got a baby on the way, don't want to raise her in the hood and all that shit."

"Understandable, your kid has to come before anything else," The same mobster said "I'm a father myself. Anyways, you got the stuff?"

"Yeah, here." Raven said, handing him a backpack

"Here's the money." Another one said, handing over a briefcase

Raven popped the case open, revealing more money than I'd ever seen in my life. Fifty dollar bills were stacked neatly from end to end, in layers and rows. One of the Albanians opened up the backpack and looked inside, checking on the contents inside. I moved around behind the Albanian to peek into the backpack, blocks of white powder, which I assumed to be cocaine, were jammed into the bag.

"Holy shit," Money said, looking into the case "That's bank ese, I ain't never seen that much duckets in my life. Dawg we are fucking set."

"Well, our cut is definitely gonna set us for a bit," Smoker laughed "Alright, let's bail."

"Here's to a new alliance between the Flat Junction Crips and the Albanian mob families." The lead Albanian said, extending his hand

"Gangstas and gangsters." Raven laughed, shaking his hand

No sooner had their hands touched, sirens sounded and police cars began pulling into the warehouse. The five boys immediately pulled their flags over their face and raised their weapons, firing at the officers as they pulled up.

"OH FUCK!" Raven yelled "IT'S FIVE-O, HEY DAWG, BLAST THEM FOOLS!"

They made a run for the car as the Albanians sped off in their car, leaving the boys alone. Smoker was struck in the head and rolled down, dead. Shade took one to the stomach and kept running until they reached the car, where he ducked behind for cover, clutching his stomach.

"Fuck man," Money yelled, shooting at the cops "You good ese?"

"I'll be-" He began, standing up

Gun shots tore through the car window and caught Shade in the neck, killing him instantly. He hit the ground, blood immediately began pulling around him. Free screamed his name but it was too late, Shade was dead. Raven yanked open the door and dove into the car, sliding to the driver seat. I had to remind myself that I wasn't actually there and there wasn't any reason to duck and dodge the bullets.

"GET IN!" He screamed

Free pulled open the back door and jumped in, grabbing an AK-47 from the floor as he did so. As Money went to pull himself in, a shot bounced off the roof of the car, and caught him right in the center of his forehead, and he fell back and hit the ground.

"MONEY!" Free yelled "NO! FUCK! MONEY!"

"SHIT!" Raven yelled "MONEY!"

"HE'S DEAD!" Free yelled at him "HE'S FUCKING DEAD! DRIVE!"

Raven slammed the car into reverse, and backed out of the parking lot. He fired into the cops behind them, forcing them to scatter. Free climbed into the passenger seat and shot out the side window at the cops. They sped out onto the main road and down the street, leaving the cops behind quickly. They were scrambling to get into their cars, but Raven and Free were already gone.

"Fuck dude," Free said, tears in his eyes "Money dude, Money."

"I know man, I fucking know," Raven said, gritting his teeth "Don't worry, we'll get that motherfucker."

"You're fucking right we'll get him!" Free yelled, slamming his fist on the dashboard "Diego is coming back from Iraq tomorrow, and now he's gotta be going to his little brother's funeral, and not to mention his mother, you're fucking right we're going to get that cock sucking, dirty, rat fucking bastard."

"Look bro, just stay calm," Raven said "As soon as-"

Raven was cut off by the sound of a helicopter, closing fast. Raven and Free exchanged nervous glances, and Raven pressed the gas harder. I glanced out the back window and realized that the helicopter was almost right on top of them. Free fired out the window at it, attempting to hit the bottom and maybe scare them off, but instead, the helicopter returned fire. Bullets riddled the car, hitting the engine, catching Raven twice in his right shoulder, hitting the back seat right where I was sitting, they would have killed me had I actually been there.

"OH SHIT!" Raven exclaimed "FREE!"

I looked into the passenger seat, and felt a sudden urge to vomit. Free was riddled with bullet holes, all over his body. His legs, his arms, his chest, even a portion of his head, all bloody. The car began to slow, and I realized the engine was dead. Raven slammed on the breaks, and threw open the door, looking back at Free.

"Rest easy bro," He whispered "I'll get the motherfucker, for you, for Money, for Smoker, and for Shade."

He turned around and sprinted off, but before I could get out and follow him, the memory changed again. This time, Raven was standing inside a basement with two other Crips, and a dark skinned man wearing a large white shirt, and a sideways Cubs snapback. He looked to be about twenty nine or so, and he was very clearly in charge here.

"Boss," Raven said "I want to find Tony too, but isn't this a little too much. I don't think I'm cool with this homie."

"Don't worry about this Raven," The man said "She'll talk quick, as soon as she tells us where Tony's at, we'll let her go."

"I know man, but torture?" Raven asked "This ain't right bro, not to a woman."

"Man fuck your morals Joker," One of the other Crips said "Tony got Free, Smoker, Money, and my little bro killed. We are gonna catch this motherfucker, I would torture Oprah fucking Winfrey to catch this dude."

Before Raven could respond, another person came down the stairs. He was Mexican, with upturned eyebrows, and a mischievous smile. He was wearing low hanging jeans and a United States Marines shirt, and a pistol holstered on his side. I knew who he was, Money's brother that Free had mentioned. He looked just like him, it wasn't hard to tell.

"What's up Diego?" Boss asked, clapping hands with him

"Not shit," Diego said "Ready to find the motherfucker that got my baby bro killed. What's good Joker?"

"Not much at the moment nigga." Raven said, clapping hands with him

I wondered how much stuff Raven had done to earn the right to say nigga in front of black people. From the memories I had seen, Raven was the only white kid where he lived, everybody else was either black or Mexican. For Raven to say nigga in front of three black people and not get weird looks, he must have done something seriously crazy for them to respect him that way.

"Those chicks from the BLC should be here in a minute," Boss said "With Tony's girlfriend."

"Wait what?" Diego asked "Tony's girlfriend? I thought this was one of his friends or something, I don't know if I'm cool with doing this shit to a girl bro."

"Well she's the only one who definitely knows where he's at." Boss countered

Before anybody could answer, a door upstairs opened and sounds of muffled screaming and struggling sounded from upstairs. A few minutes later, two girls wearing all blue dragged a woman down the stairs, her clothes were tattered and she had a bag over her head. Boss motioned for them to tie her to the chair in the center of the room, which they obliged. The other two boys went upstairs while Boss wheeled a small cart into view. On top of it sat a giant wrench, a car battery with two wires attached to it, a gas can with water in it, and a rag.

"Alright homies," Boss said "Mask up."

They all pulled blue bandannas over their faces, and Boss removed the bag from the girl's head. She was black, but very clearly mixed. She had tears in her eyes and she glanced around fearfully, as though she already knew what this was about.

"Easy now," Boss said "We won't hurt you, so long as you tell us what we want to know."

"I'll tell you anything," The girl cried "Please, just let me go."

"If you're honest," Boss said "Then you have nothing to worry about, from me or my boys here. Now, where is Tony?"

"Tony?" She asked "What do you want with Tony?"

"Where is he?" Boss repeated

"I don't know," She said "I haven't seen him in a week, I thought he was just busy running stuff for the Crips or whatever."

"HE IS NOT A CRIP!" Boss roared at her "YOU'RE GETTING ON MY NERVES BITCH! WHERE IS HE?"

"B," Raven said warning "Cool it."

"I don't know where he is," She said "I haven't seen him in a week."

"Maybe we need to loosen her up a bit," Boss said "J?"

"No," Raven said "Don't make me do it, you know I'm not cool with this."

"Just fucking do it." Boss said, handing him the wrench

I could tell Raven knew there was no backing out. He stood in front of the girl, and met her eyes. I knew this pained him, he didn't want to do it, and Lady Artemis might kill him if she ever found out about this. He lined the wrench up with her knee, and then looked at her.

"Where is Tony?" He asked

"I don't know!" She cried "I swear to God I don't know."

I turned away as Raven drew back, I couldn't watch. I heard the wrench swoosh through the air, and then there was a sickening crack. The girl screamed in pain and began crying, and I turned to look at her. Her left knee was bloody and her face was contorted in pain, tears falling freely. I was horrified at what I saw, my mother hadn't been kidding when she said she would show me the darkest side of Raven, a side he himself would be ashamed to share with anybody.

"Now, let's try this again," Boss said "Where is Tony?"

"I don't know," The girl sobbed "I really don't, I swear."

"J." Boss said, nodding towards the gas can

"Dude," Raven muttered to Diego "I can't do this."

"I know it's hard," Diego whispered to him "Think about Free and Money, we'll get the motherfucker that got them killed, but we've gotta do this first."

Raven set his face and pushed the chair back, letting the girl fall to the floor. She struggled and cried, but Raven ignored her. I was seeing an entirely different Raven from the boy I had kissed, this Raven was an animal, an untamed, sick, twisted animal. He threw the rag over her head, and turned the gas can upside down. She choked and gasped as the water hit the rag, running into her face.

"Okay," She coughed through the water "He's in Brooklyn!"

Raven stopped and pulled her up, letting the rag fall to the floor. She coughed and spit out water, and Raven put the gas can back on the table, stepping back. Boss knelt down in front of her again and smiled warmly, knowing he was close to finding out what she knew.

"What was that?" Boss asked

"He's in Brooklyn," She said "He's still hiding out here."

"Where exactly?" Boss demanded

"I don't know exactly where," She sobbed "I just know he's still in Brooklyn."

"You sure about that?" Boss asked

"Please," She begged "That's all I know."

"Then consider this for good measure," He said, looking at the two girls standing off to the side "Boss Lady Crips want a turn?"

"You know it baby." One of the girls said, making her way to the table

She grabbed the car battery and sparked the clamps together, a sadistic grin no doubt plastered to her face as she did so. I couldn't look away, it was like a train wreck. I saw Raven and Diego turn around as the girl ripped her shirt into two pieces, taking her bra with her. She attached the clamps to her breasts and turned the battery on, shocking her. The girl screamed and cried as the battery shocked her, but they didn't stop. Raven and Diego stayed turned, but I couldn't bring myself to look away, despite how hard I tried.

"STOP!" She screamed "PLEASE!"

"Where is Tony?" Boss asked

"FLAT JUNCTION! She cried "HE'S STILL IN FLAT JUNCTION!"

"No," Boss said as the girl went to remove the clamps "Turn it up."

She cranked the power up, and the girl's screams got louder and louder while the clamps dug into her bare flesh. I glanced over at Raven, who's fists were clenched so hard they were turning white. The girl's screams mixed in with her sobs as she screamed and sobbed all in the same breath.

"Where exactly is he?" Boss asked "Where at in Flat Junction?"

"I DON'T KNOW!" She screamed "I JUST KNOW THAT HE'S IN FLAT JUNCTION! THAT'S ALL I KNOW!"

"Turn it up." Boss said

"STOP!" Raven roared, turning on them

He had his gun in his hand, and it was pointed directly at Boss. The girl froze, torn between her fear of Raven and the orders which had been given to her by Boss. Boss looked shocked at Raven's anger, and so was I. I had figured he would keep quiet and let it happen, but he was shaking with anger. I knew if they didn't comply, he would pull the trigger.

"I SAID SHUT THE FUCKING THING OFF!" Raven screamed "NOW!"

This time, the girl jumped into action and switched off the battery, pulling the clamps from the girl's breasts as she did so. Her screams subsided into painful sobs, and everybody was quiet. Raven's gun was still in Boss's face, and Diego stood with his hands up, attempting to calm Raven down.

"Put the gun down, J," Boss said "The battery is off, just lower the piece dawg."

"Get her out of here," Raven said, not moving "Take her back to wherever you took her from."

The two girls untied her and Raven lowered his gun and pulled off his shirt, putting it on her to cover her up, as the other two girls had ripped her clothes off of her. The carried her up the stairs, while she still cried. Raven tucked his gun back into his waistband, and then snapped. He grabbed Boss by his collar and slammed him against the wall right next to where I was standing, glaring into his face.

"What the fuck was that bullshit?" He demanded "I told you I wasn't cool with this to begin with, why'd you have to take it too far?"

"I didn't!" Boss spat back, pushing Raven off of him "I was getting a good stream from her!"

"She told you everything she knew!" Raven yelled "That was unnecessary!"

"Alright both of you just calm the fuck down!" Diego yelled, getting between the two of them "Joker, stay cool, Boss, he's right. Now, we know Tony's in Flat Junction, but how are we gonna figure out where?"

"What do we do?" Raven asked "Kick every door in Flat Junction until we find him? You know she'll tell him what happened when she sees him, this nigga will skip town before we can even get near him."

"We'll let all the Crips know to keep an eye out for him, even the Bloods, BD's, Vice Lords, Latin Kings, every gang in Brooklyn," Boss said "We may all hate eachother, but we hate snitches even more."

"Good," Raven said "Maybe that'll keep him here for a bit."

"Alright," Diego said "Joker, come on over to the house, man. Mama's making dinner, you need to eat something, I ain't seen you eat much in the past few days."

"Yeah yeah, alright," Raven said "Let's go."

The memory faded away again as they headed up the stairs, and I shot up in my bed, breathing hard. I wasn't quite processing what had just happened, but I knew it wasn't just a dream, I had seen Raven's actual memories, and I hated him for what I saw.

Raven:

Amber was acting weird, really weird. Even more so than she had been after we had kissed, like she had seen something. I couldn't talk to her about it, because the others kept us busy all day. Percy and Jason worked me harder than I'd ever been worked in my life, and I took every opportunity I could to fight a monster when they attacked, which became more and more frequent the closer we got to Death Valley. Hazel often invited me to meditate with her, but I never accepted, until today.

"Meditation is an ancient art, not really Greek or Roman but it helps clear your mind a little bit," Hazel said "So what made you change your mind?"

"Not sure." I admitted

She led me to a room in the back just above the engine, quiet, one window at the end of the room and a fuzzy carpet for a floor, that was it. Hazel sat down and motioned for me to do the same, which I did. We sat cross legged, the hum of the engine almost lulling me to sleep.

"Okay," Hazel said "This'll give me a chance to try out something I've been working on."

"And that would be?" I asked her

"Using my voice to relax you," She said "Just do as I say, and concentrate on my voice."

"Alright," I shrugged "Go for it."

"Okay," She said "Now, close your eyes, sit straight up and focus your breathing."

I did as she told me, listening to the hum of the engine more than I was her voice. Hazel's voice was calm and smooth, and I felt myself drifting into a state of relaxation. My breathing began to get an even, rhythmic pattern to it.

_Raven_! A voice in my head called out suddenly

_What_? I thought, sure I'd imagined it

_You're not imagining this_, The voice said _It's me, your mother_."

_Mom_? I thought

_I just said it was me_, Mom said, sounding exasperated _You really don't listen, do you_?

_Not really, _I thought back _Where are you at?_

_Where do you think? _She snapped _I'm at the forbidden isle. Raven, there's something you need to know. It's worse than I thought, Tartarus was behind it all, but he's recruited others._

_Meaning_? I asked

_Narcissus, Arachne, Lycaon, Chrysaor, and Orion. _She said

Orion. Even the name struck anger in me, I would take my revenge on him. I had trained as much as I could, and I had to hope it was enough. I was vaguely aware of Hazel still talking, but I couldn't really focus on it that well.

_Listen, I don't have much energy,_ Mom said _So I'll make this quick. They're trying to drain our essence, I don't know what for, but they're draining our essence._

_What happens if they get it all? _I asked her

_I'd rather not find out, _Mom said _Quickly, I can't hold the connection much-_

Her voice suddenly went silent, and I was jarred back into reality. Hazel was still droning about listening to her voice and focusing my breathing, and I felt myself slipping deeper into relaxation. I jumped when a knock sounded at the door, and ripped me back into consciousness.

"What?" Hazel huffed "We're busy."

"I need to speak with Raven," Amber's voice sounded outside the door "Please."

I rose and opened the door, to find Amber standing outside, looking extremely haunted. She grabbed my arm without a word and pulled me out into the hallway, not stopping until we had reached the engine room, and were both completely alone.

"Why?" She asked

"Ummmm, why what?" I asked

"Why did you do it?" She asked me "That girl, in the basement?"

I caught on instantly, she had seen us in the basement, torturing Tony's girlfriend. I had buried that deep and chosen not to think about it, even though it had been less than a few months ago, I hadn't thought about it since that day. It was disturbing, messed up, and something I wasn't proud of participating in.

"Amber, I don't expect you to understand why-" I started

"How could you do that to somebody?" She demanded, cutting me off "Do you know what Lady Artemis would think?"

"Yes, I'm fully aware of what my mother would think," I said "I didn't want to do that Amber, I really didn't."

"It didn't look like it until you pulled a gun on everybody." She said

"Look, I'm not proud of that Amber, I'm not," I told her "I'd rather never have to think about it again, if I could help it. I don't have an excuse for what happened except for I was just trying to figure out where the rat who got my best friends killed was."

"Is that how you justify being the cold-hearted monster you are?" She spat at me

"My past doesn't define who I am now," I said angrily "Then, I was a fatherless, motherless, broken gang banger. Yes, I was a monster, I did a lot of things I'm not proud of. While we're at it, let me just tell you other things that might make you hate me. I've killed eight people, five of them were kids no older than I was. For the longest time, I couldn't even close my eyes without seeing their faces, begging for mercy that I wouldn't be giving them."

"Raven-," Amber began, but I cut her off

"I killed a kid one time who had joined the Crips and then was caught hanging out with Bloods, so I put a bullet right into his head," I told her, my voice getting louder "Then, as if that wasn't enough, I looked his mother right in the eye and lied to her about who killed him. To this day, she still thinks that the Bloods did it. Another time, I stabbed a cop to death while looking him right in the eye, I watched him bleed as the life drained from him, and I enjoyed every fucking bit of it!"

I was lying, I hadn't enjoyed it. But I was angry, and I wasn't thinking clearly. Amber was shocked speechless, and I thought about apologizing, but then I realized she was looking over my shoulder. I turned around, to find all other nine demigods on our quest standing in the doorway, mouths open, which made me even angrier.

"What the fuck are you guys all staring at?" I demanded "Yeah, I'm a monster. The only son of Artemis is a murder and a drug dealer."

Before anybody could say anything, I shoved past them all and stormed up the stairs into the cabin Leo had prepared for me. After this quest was over, I was going to leave Camp Half-Blood. I didn't belong there, I would go back to Brooklyn, and ask Boss to rejoin the FJC. That was my home, Flat Junction was my home. I was born a Crip, and I would die a Crip.

**Okay so I know this chapter was kind of fucked up, and for those people who are wondering about that whole thing with Tony's girlfriend, no I don't get some sick twister sexual thing from it, I don't get off to that shit, it's just a story. I have never done any of these things in real life, I have never been a gang member, I don't even live in Brooklyn. So everybody calm down, it's alright. Sorry if anybody has nightmares from this, feel free to blame me but don't sue me. Anyways, review and I love ya'll, God bless.**


	10. Entering the forbidden isle

**Hey guys, sorry about the wait, I haven't been able to get past this writers block. I get all of these major events planned out then have nothing to lead up to them. Shout out to SlayerOfLAdon being the second person to review. Anyways, don't forget to drop some letters in the comments section, flames and suggestion accepted. I do not own Percy Jackson.**

Chapter 10: Entering the forbidden isle

Raven:

There was a small knock at my door nearly an hour later, and I already knew who it was.

"What do you want, Thalia?" I asked

"To talk," Thalia said, opening my door "I mean, you kind of made a scene out there."

"Yeah," I shrugged "I do that a lot, can you close the door?"

Thalia shut the door and sat down on the foot of my bed, saying nothing. I knew why she was here, but I was glad for the silence. I had lost my cool, and Amber didn't deserve that. Of all the people to see what I had done, she was the last one I wanted to have to witness that. I had buried the memory, trying to forget it, and look how that worked out.

"We're in Utah," Thalia said "We'll be in California by nightfall. We've finally got Leo to sleep."

"Good." I said, not moving

"So," She said "You and Amber huh?"

"Sorry," I said "Elaborate."

"Don't play dumb, Raven," Thalia sighed "Jennifer and I talked, I know what happened."

"I told her not to say anything." I grumbled

"Well if it makes you feel any better, I won't tell anybody else," She said "I've also talked to Amber, gave her an ultimatum."

"And that would be?" I asked her

"Either the hunters," Thalia said "Or you."

"And she didn't immediately choose you guys?" I asked, shocked

"No," Thalia said "That's why I'm here."

"To give me an ultimatum?" I asked "What do I get to choose between."

"No, I'm here to tell you to get off your fucking ass and go talk to Amber," Thalia said "Now, get off your fucking ass, and go talk to Amber."

"Sorry," I said, laying back "But I'm not a hunter Thalia, I don't answer to you."

"Then I'm asking you as a friend," She said "Please, just do it. She's in her cabin."

"Ugh," I groaned "Since you said please."

I got off my bed and left my cabin, making my way down the hallway to Amber's. I heard Thalia leave my cabin behind me and head off in the direction of the dining hall. I paused outside Amber's door with my hand raised, ready to knock, debating. I knew Amber was mad at me, and I wanted to give her time, but Thalia had asked me to talk to her, so fuck it. I knocked on the door.

"Come in." Amber said in a small voice from inside

I opened the door and stepped inside, closing it behind me. Amber was sitting on her bed, laying back against the wall, not looking at all surprised to see me.

"Sup." I said

She nodded, not saying a word. I took that as my cue to sit down, also staying silent. It was a painfully awkward twenty seconds before Amber finally spoke, the contempt pretty clear in her voice.

"Did Thalia ask you to come talk to me?" She asked

"Ah yes she did." I confirmed

"You can go back to your cabin," She said "I'll tell her we talked."

"I could do that," I said, raising an eyebrow "Or I could stay here and we could actually talk."

"What makes you think I want to?" She asked

"I don't think you do," I shrugged "But Thalia will kick the living shit out of me if we don't."

"_I'll_ kick the living shit out of you if you don't get out." She said, her face still emotionless

"Yeah," I said, trying for a grin "Bet you hit like a girl."

Her hand moved faster than I anticipated, although I didn't actually think she was going to hit me. Before I could register what happened, she was sitting back in the same position, as though she had never moved. My jaw, however, stung pretty badly.

"Guess I kinda deserved that," I admitted "Feel better?"

"A bit," She shrugged "Now get out."

"Amber, come on," I groaned "I'm trying to reach out."

"I don't want you to," She snapped "I want you to leave me alone."

"Under normal circumstances, I might just leave," I told her "But, you and I, we've got some shit to discuss."

"I don't have a thing to say to you." She hissed

"Yeah you do," I said, leaning back "Spill it, I know you're itching to let me have it."

"Okay fine," She snapped "Let's start with why? Why the hell would you do something like that?"

"I don't have an excuse for you," I told her "My two best friends were dead, his girlfriend might've known where he was, I was just grieving."

"That isn't grieving, Raven." She said, her voice softening a bit

"Amber this shit ain't no movie," I said "In the hood, grieving for your friends ain't writing some dope ass rap song and getting famous, it's killing whoever the fuck did it."

"Well-" She started

"Hold on, I'm not finished," I said, cutting her off before she could lay into me again "I ain't saying that way of thinking is right, but you have to understand what I've grown up around. Dealing, robbing, fighting, shootouts, it's all I know, and if shit hits the fan it's what I resort to."

"You can't ever justify what you did to her," She said "What's worse is the fact that you clearly weren't cool with it, and you let it go on for a while before you did something."

"I was okay with it in a sense," I said "In my mind, I was trying to avenge friends. But there was a point where it was going too far, we'd already gotten all we were gonna get from her."

She didn't say anything, which put me on edge. Over my short time as a Demigod, I had learned that if Amber was silent, it meant she was angry, brooding, plotting, or possibly all three. It was at least three or four minutes before she finally spoke.

"I wish my mother hadn't shown me those," She said "All I can hear is that girl screaming."

"Believe me, I hear it too." I sighed

"I'm sorry I brought it up," She told me "I know you probably just want to bury something like that."

"You were right," I told her "I am a monster, just because I'm a Demigod now doesn't mean I've changed, those animalistic feelings never really go away."

"You aren't an animal," She said gently "You have changed, do you think the old you would've given a flying fuck about the fate of our known world being at steak."

"Probably not," I admitted "But that doesn't make me a changed man."

Again, she went silent. I had a feeling the conversation was over, and she was grasping for something to say, anything to break the tension. When she finally did speak, she had changed the subject.

"Did Thalia tell you about my ultimatum?" She asked

"Yeah," I said "And?"

"I don't know," She said "Raven, we haven't even known eachother for that long, we kissed once."

"I know," I shrugged "Look, I have no clue what love feels like. There's something between us, but I don't know what it is."

"Neither do I," She admitted "That's why I'm gonna make this decision on my own."

""Amber-" I started

"No," She said, cutting me off "I don't want to hear anything anybody has to say."

"How do you know we feel the same way?" I asked

"Do we?" She asked

"I guess, but that isn't the point." I told her

"Then what is the point?" She asked me

I didn't have an answer, because I was just trying to keep her from throwing away the hunt just for me. I knew she was considering it, but I couldn't be who she needed, or I didn't want to be who she needed. I had never fallen in love, not once. The little time I spent with Dad had taught me a little something about being careful who you put your trust into, he always told me that whenever you fell in love, you'd know it. There was a difference between some twelve year old thinking they were in love, and actually _being _in love, and I hadn't ever felt it.

"That's what I thought." Amber said, finalizing her decision

"So what?" I asked her "You don't even want my input just a little bit?"

"Nope," She said "Because I already know exactly what you're going to say."

"Oh yeah?" I laughed "What was I gonna say?"

"That you don't want me to throw away the hunt for you," She said "That I should just stay with the hunters and you and I should just forget this ever happened."

"Well I'll be damned," I said "Okay, so you know me a bit better than I give you credit for."

"I'm good at reading people," She said "Now do me a favor."

"What would that be?" I asked

"Get out," She said "I'm going to sit in here, alone, until I figured out what I want to do."

"Fair enough." I said, getting up

I left her room and shut the door, heading off to the dining hall, where all the other demigods were already gathered. Nobody gave me a second glance, and they acted as though nothing had happened, which I was grateful for.

"We've almost crossed the California border," Frank said "We'll be facing unspeakably dangerous unknown by nightfall."

"Good," I said, lighting up a cigarette "I love doing that shit."

"Can you open a window if you're going to smoke in here?" Hazel asked

"Leo's got a switch around here for something like that," Jason said, fiddling with a control panel on the wall "Let's see, ummmmmmm, ah ha! Here we go."

He clicked a button and a small vent in the corner of the room opened, and all the smoke was sucked out of it. Handy little device, and very thoughtful of Leo to build because I liked smoking inside better than outside, if I had the choice.

"Now that that little dilemma is solved," Piper said "Let's focus on what's more important, like what's the plan?"

"Walk in, blow shit up, leave?" I suggested

"Sounds like every other quest I've been on." Percy laughed

"My mother was in contact with me earlier," I said "She spoke to me through my thoughts, Tartarus is the one behind this whole thing, but he's recruited others."

"Who?" Thalia asked

"Narcissus, Lycaon, Chrysaor, Arachne, and Orion." I told them

"But we destroyed Arachne the first time we were in Tartarus," Percy said "And Nico destroyed Lycaon, and Reyna destroyed Orion, we destroyed Chrysaor, and I don't know about Narcissus."

"Leo and I just took his mirror," Hazel said "It must've broken the spell."

"Tartarus must have revived them," I said "They all would have gone to his realm, he has control over them, porbably."

"Well if Lady Artemis says they're there, then they're there," Jennifer said "No use wondering how. Now, how do we defeat them?"

"Orion can't be defeated unless we have the help of a god," Jason said "So first thing we should do is find a god."

"My mother showed me where they were," Annabeth said "They're all on top of a mountain, chained up together."

"So we find one," I summed up "We find all?"

"Exactly, and we only need to free one of them." Percy said

"But which one?" Thalia asked

"Whichever one is closest." Frank shrugged

"Somebody go wake Leo up," Jason said "He's been sleeping for a little bit so I think he'll be good, and get Amber too."

"I'll get him." Piper said

"Well," Percy said "I'm not sure this'll work once we get inside Tartarus, so I might as well do it now, everyone stand back."

Percy:

When Piper returned with Leo and Amber close at hand, Annabeth and I launched into an explanation of everything that had happened to us with Carter and Sadie. Every single mouth was open wide when they found out that not only did we live in a world with Greeks and Romans, but now we were throwing Egyptians into the mix.

"You guys kept this a secret?" Jason asked "Wouldn't this have been a good thing to tell the others?"

"Well," I said "Think of it as one of those, I'm thinking about the better of the camp kind of things."

"Right." Jason said

"Now," I said "Let me concentrate."

Carter had assure me that, although they would fade, the hieroglyphs he had written on my hand wouldn't go away until I used it. I raised my hand to my mouth and spoke his name, and got nothing. I did it again, nada. A third time, zilch.

"Ummmmm, what are you doing?" Raven asked me

"He put this hieroglyph on my hand," I said "It's supposed to-HOLY HADES!"

Two forms dropped out of the air right in front of me and landed in a heap on the table. The sound of eleven demigods drawing weapons on them was heard and Carter Kane now faced down eleven, armed, and startled demigods.

"Weapons away please," Carter said, pushing himself up "Percy it works the first time I just had to open the portal."

"Well I thought with magic and all that, you'd just pop into existence the second I said your name." I admitted

"Thank the gods it doesn't work like that," Carter said "I was using the bathroom when I heard you."

"A little TMI there." The other boy muttered, pushing himself up

The boy was tall, black, and muscular, with short, curly hair. He was wearing a muscle tank top and a pair of black jeans, and his neck was covered in what were very clearly magic charms and amulets. He had a small scowl etched into his face, as if he wasn't happy to suddenly be pulled out of thin air.

"So everybody," I said "This is Carter Kane, and uhhhh-"

"Walt Stone." The kid said

"Walt is Sadie's god slash boyfriend thing, I'm not sure," Carter said "No offense."

"I'm still confused about it." Walt shrugged

"Who is Sadie?" Thalia asked

"My sister," Carter said "She felt disturbances and went to investigate, she never came back."

"All of the gods have gone missing," Jason said "Zeus was the last one, all his guards were slaughtered."

"Well we do have a problem then," Carter mused "So who is everybody?"

"Those three there are hunters, Amber, Thalia, and Jennifer," I said "Everybody else is a demigod. From Camp Half-Blood, we have me, Annabeth, Leo, Raven, and Piper. And from Camp Jupiter we have, Frank, Jason, and Hazel."

"Pleased to meet you all," Carter said "Wish we could all hang out under less dire circumstances."

"You and me both." Raven said, sitting back down

We all retook our seats while I filled Carter in on everything we knew, and he filled us in on what he knew, most of which was stuff we had figured out. He told us Sadie's life force could be found, but it was concealed. All they were able to do was sense the general area, but they couldn't get an exact lock.

"So," Leo said "Back to what Piper said, what's the plan?"

"Well, we don't know how many there are, and we're very likely going to be outnumbered," Amber said "So maybe, just bear with me here, improvise."

"That's what demigods are built for," I laughed "Making a plan, then throwing the plan out the window and making everything up as we go along."

"Holy Horus," Carter groaned "Sadie would love you guys."

"So," Walt said "How do we even get into this Tartarus place?"

"Well, according to Nico at least, the door should just open up once we hit it," Hazel said "We'd have to try to miss it, and even then we'd still hit it."

"Do mortals ever get caught in it?" Walt asked

"Probably not," I said "You'll find that the mist does a pretty good job of keeping stuff like that from happening."

Suddenly we felt the ship rock, violently. We were thrown to the side as it adjusted itself, coming back up. Even though nobody said it, we all knew we must've passed through the gateway, what else could ominous rocking mean? Without a word, we all headed up to the deck, unsure of what we would find. The sky was dark, and all hope seemed to be sucked from my soul as we stepped out into the harsh, chilled air.

"Don't seem that bad," Raven remarked, looking around "Just really foreboding."

"Where'd you learn that word?" I teased him

"Your girlfriend." He whispered

The two of us shared a quiet laugh. Raven was one of the few that could make those types of jokes to me because, despite his personality, I knew he'd never actually try anything with Annabeth, but she'd probably knock his teeth out if she'd heard it.

"Well, we're in," Walt grunted "Now what?"

"Now?" A voice echoed all around us "You die!"

In a matter of moments, two things happened at once. A man, or something resembling one, dropped from the main mast down to the center of the ship, two knives twirling absentmindedly in his hands. I recognized him immediately by the eyes, or what looked more like night vision goggles, Orion. At the same time, several large spiders came crawling over the side of the ship, each one carrying two or three men wearing ancient Greek armor on their backs. The spiders were the size of fully grown dogs, and the men on their backs had a slight red glow in their eyes, I figured they must've been the cultists that attacked Raven on Olympus.

"Spiders?" Annabeth shuddered next to me "Why spiders? Why spiders?"

"Who the fuck are you?" Raven spat at him "White Shaq?"

"Oh you do not know me, son of Artemis?" He asked, amused "But I know you, or at least, I knew your father."

"How in the hell did my dad end up with a friend that tall?" Raven wondered, cocking his head

"Oh we were not friends, I assure you," Orion laughed "I envied him, actually. He took the only prize I wasn't ever able to conquer."

"Raven," Jason hissed "That's Orion."

"Oh," Raven said, pulling his lighter from his pocket "Well in that case."

In a single motion, he flicked his lighter and pulled his gun from his waistband, letting off two quick shots. Each one found their mark and two of the cultists behind Orion dropped dead. Within another split second, Raven's gun was tucked away again and a massive beam of silver struck Orion, sending him flailing backwards. We all drew our weapons as Raven rushed forward, blocking a sword from another cultist and cutting him down with ease, taking out the spider behind him in the same stroke.

I used Riptide to block a sword as Annabeth stabbed his ribs, pushing him down as she cut another's throat. Jason and Leo were back to back, using a combination of fire and lightning to knock off the ones who were still attempting to climb the ship. Amber, Thalia, and Jennifer were running along the railings with unbelievable speed, letting off arrows faster than anybody could follow, each one finding a mark. Frank, Hazel, and Walt were backed up by the Greek fire crates, Walt's amulets were the only thing keeping the monsters away from Frank as he picked them off with arrows. Hazel was a blur of motion, striking down cultists in twos and threes, using her thinner blade to her advantage.

Carter and Piper were holding out together underneath the mast, Carter parrying each attack and pushing them back while Piper swooped in with her knife or used Charmspeak to convince them to jump off the edge of the ship. Raven and Orion were locked in a fierce battle, striking back and forth, neither one able to gain an upper hand on the other. Orion had a definite size advantage, but Raven rolled and slid between his legs, cutting his back or legs as he went.

"Help him," Annabeth said, nodding to Raven "I've got these ones."

I broke away and headed towards Orion, taking a strike but missing as he rolled away. Raven and I rushed him together, coming from either side but he was just too fast. He lashed out with his foot and sent Raven sprawling to the side, leaving me alone and already committed to my attack. He blocked it with ease and parried, narrowly missing my gut with his knife.

"You cannot hope to defeat me," He growled as Raven rejoined "I am a Giant!"

"That's debatable." Raven muttered, moving to strike

Raven pressed his attack, leaving Orion open for me to get several strikes in, but he healed himself faster than I could do damage. I saw Thalia and Jennifer go down under a crowd of spiders, Amber tried to help them but she almost got swallowed up too. One of the cultists got Frank from behind with a club, knocking him unconscious. Annabeth was fighting for her life, but I knew she'd be overwhelmed too if I didn't help her. I broke away from Raven just as a cultist tackled her, sending them both sprawling over the side of the ship.

"ANNABETH!" I screamed as she fell

One of the spiders shot a web out and caught her and the cultist halfway down, she tried to fight but they swarmed her, using the web to secure her to the spider's back and carry her off, the others were being loaded up just the same.

"I've got an idea!" Raven yelled to me "Get everybody that they haven't taken off the ship, now!"

"What are you thinking?" I asked him

"Just do it!" He yelled, catching a cultist's blade and slitting his throat

"Retreat!" I yelled to the remaining Demigods "Let's go!"

Walt used his amulets to fly he and Amber off the ship. I cut down another few cultists while Jason flew Piper and Leo down below, coming back up as fast as he could. I noticed Orion had retreated during the battle, leaving the massive number of spiders and cultists to deal with us. A torrent of lightning arced around the ship, frying groups of ten or so cultists and spiders at a time, most of them falling off the side of the ship as they climbed it.

Hazel and I were back to back, cutting down anything close, but we wouldn't last long. Jason touched down behind us in the nick of time, sending out another burst of lightning as he grabbed Hazel and I and shot into the air. I don't know how long we fell, but the ship was a good distance away when we finally landed, which was a good think I suppose.

"Raven's still up there." Amber said when Jason landed

"I'm going back up," Jason said, nodding "Back in a flash."

He took off towards the ship again, and in the distance I could see tiny flashes off silver light as Raven made his stand against the remaining cultists and spiders, who had no doubt turned their complete, undivided attention to him. Jason had become nothing more then a small dot in the sky, then every hair on the back of my neck stood straight up.

"Get down!" I yelled, tackling Leo and Carter to the dirt

Everybody else dropped as the Argo III erupted into a massive, green ball of fire, swallowing everything in it's path.


	11. Death and resurrection

**I'm sooooooo sorry for the wait, but I've had some shit to deal with. And I know a lot of you hate me for the last chapter. Oh well, he died a hero's death as he was promised. Anyways, give some reviews, flames and suggestions are accepted. Thanks to everyone who didn't say fuck you and turn away when Raven died. Thank you to the loyal readers who continue to come back and wait for another chapter, we are almost done with this story. It's been fun, it really has. I don't own Percy Jackson, so ladies and gentleman, I give you chapter eleven.**

Chapter 11: Death and resurrection

Amber:

I stared up at the sky in awe, unable to process what had happened. Jason came steadily into view as he descended towards us. I thought, for a moment, that he had gotten to Raven before the ship exploded, but all hope was extinguished when he landed, alone. His shirt and pants were somewhat tattered, the hairs on his arms were burned off as well as some of the hair in the front of his head and part of his left eyebrow.

"I tried to get to him," He gasped, collapsing and falling into a coughing fit "The ship, it just exploded before I could even get close."

"That was his plan," Percy said, looking up to the sky where the Argo III had been moments before "To sacrifice himself so we could all get away."

"Any chance he could've survived?" Hazel asked "Maybe he somehow made it off."

"There's no way," I said quietly "There wasn't any other way down from the ship, it's not possible."

"You're awful quick to give up hope," Leo said "They all thought I was dead."

"You were," I spat at him "Raven doesn't have some potion in his pocket to bring himself back, he doesn't have a dragon to carry him away, he's dead."

Nobody said a word and I tried to calm myself down. Raven was dead, gone before he ever even got a chance be somebody else, somebody different from who he used to be. It was a few moments before Jason finally spoke, pulling everybody from their thoughts.

"We have to move," He said, taking a few squares of ambrosia from Leo "Raven died for this quest, we can't fail him, we can't let his sacrifice be in vain."

"I agree," Piper said "There'll be time to mourn him later. Right now, we have a job to do."

I nodded in agreement, rising to my feet. We looked around, for some sort of clue as to where the gods were. Percy nudged Jason and pointed into the distance, where a mountain was sitting, the top covered in dark clouds, purple lightning raging inside of them, a dead giveaway.

"Any chance that all the mountains look like that and we're looking for one without clouds?" Carter asked

"Not a chance," Leo said "Welcome to our world, the more dangerous it looks, the higher the chance that it's where we're heading."

"Didn't think so," Carter muttered as we began walking "Your lives suck."

"Is yours much better?" Jason laughed

"Not really," Walt said "Last summer, we fought the very embodiment of chaos, lost a rogue magician, and leveled a small section of Egypt."

"We fought the earth," Leo said "And several giants, and trashed several parts of Europe."

"So this isn't exactly the most difficult thing we've all done?" Carter asked

"Tartarus is an entirely different league," Percy said "He's twice as powerful as anything you've ever faced, simply being in his presence will drain your energy."

"Maybe Bob and Damasen weakened him." Piper said

"That's all we can hope for," I said "We won't be able to defeat him, but maybe we can hold him long enough and free the gods."

"What were those things?" Hazel asked

"Cultists," I said "They used to worship Tartarus, one of them attacked Raven a while ago."

We all fell silent and kept walking, knowing we were facing the impossible. Without Raven, who was the most powerful of us all, even if he didn't know it, our chances had just become much slimmer. Although our quest would not be impossible, it would be much more difficult without the son of Artemis.

"So," Leo said "Anybody know how we can free the gods?"

"Not a clue," Percy said "I don't even know how they're trapped exactly."

"Neither do I," Jason said "Although I'm sure we'll find out soon enough."

"Yeah," Carter said "Right as soon as we get through all of them.

We stopped as we came over a hill, looking down into a valley. There were all types of monsters, cultists, and spiders strewn out along the valley, and the beginning of the path leading to the top of the mountain in clear view on the other side.

"Oh fuck." Percy breathed

Pretty much just summed up the entire situation, he had such a way with words.

Jennifer:

When I came to, I was chained. There were two pillars on either side of me, my left leg and wrist was chained to one, while my right leg and wrist was chained to the other, the chains were solid black. I looked to my left and realized Lady Artemis was chained next to me, and Thalia on her other side. Annabeth was chained by another goddess I knew to be Athena, and Frank was chained by Ares, across from us. There was an open space, with the gods chained on either side. Hestia, Hera, Athena, Aphrodite, Lady Artemis, a blonde girl in a leather jacket, and Demeter on one side, Hermes, Zeus, Ares, Poseidon, Hades, Hephaestus, Apollo, and Dionysus on the other side. There was a small path, leading up the mountain into where we were, with nothing on either side of it. It was a simple road, with nothing but open space on either side. On the other end, it was simply a drop off, with seemingly no end.

"Jennifer," Thalia said "Good, you're alive. I was worried about you for a minute there."

"I'm okay," I told her "What about you?"

"A little beat up," She admitted "But I'll live."

"Lady Artemis," I said, looking at the goddess "Are you alright?"

"It takes much more than this to break me," Artemis said proudly "Where are the others?"

"Either on the ship when it exploded," Thalia said "Or they abandoned ship, which I think is more likely, and they're on their way here."

"Oh they're coming alright," A deep voice boomed "They're actually right below us."

Six figures materialized in front of us. I recognized the giant spider, woman, hybrid thing as Arachne, a handsome man in his twenties as Narcissus, a man dressed in all gold with a gorgon mask as Chrysaor, a tall man with a bow and knives, whose eyes look liked night vision goggles, Orion, another taller man in tattered clothes, I had never met him but I knew who he was, Lycaon, and finally, a man in all black armor, with a jet black sword strapped to his back, with purple skin, Tartarus himself. His armor and his sword had a certain energy to them, absolute evil. I might've imagined it, but I could have sworn I could see faces in them.

"Tartarus," Zeus spat "You will pay for your treachery."

"Oh please, Zeus," Tartarus laughed "Let's entertain the thought you escape here, who will you send to bring me to justice? Nobody is foolish enough to try that, it's such a waste of life."

"When I get out of these chains-" Ares threatened

"Quiet war god," Tartarus snapped "Somebody bring me one of the captured demigods, I want to spill some blood."

"Which one?" Orion asked eagerly

Tartarus examined the four of us that had been taken, grinning like a maniac. I noticed something odd about him, the closer he got to me, the more tired I felt. I was almost ready to just keel over and die by the time he spoke again.

"This one," He said, pointing at me "Kill the hunter."

"Of course, Father," Orion said, grinning "Pity, you lose your son, now you'll lose a Hunter."

"Lost my son?" Lady Artemis demanded "What in the name of Olympus do you mean?"

"He was on the demigod ship when it exploded," Orion snarled "I wanted so badly to end him, but alas, I'll simply have to settle for another dead Hunter."

Lady Artemis surged at him, roaring in anger, but her chains held tight. She slumped back, resigning to defeat. I knew she was refusing to cry in front of us all, but she was broken. The news of her son's death had sent her over the edge, and if she got out of those chains, she would snap. Orion grabbed me and my chains evaporated, and I was free, for a moment. Orion threw me down at Tartarus's feet, and before I could even try to fight back, Tartarus grabbed my head and forced it upwards, exposing my neck. I felt the cool metal of a blade pressing against my throat, and I immediately knew what was going to happen.

"Arachne, Narcissus, Chrysaor, and Lycaon," Tartarus barked as the four of them ran to do his bidding "Go take care of our friends below, do not let them reach this mountain. Any last words huntress?"

"Have I served you well milady?" I asked, making eye contact with Lady Artemis as best I could

"With great honor," She said, taking a shaky breath "You have served me bravely, I am proud to have called you a hunter of Artemis."

"Thank you," I said, closing my eyes "Lady Artemis."

I felt Tartarus make a sudden movement, and there was a quick flash of pain, and then I felt as if I was floating, and the pain was no more.

Percy:

Jason sent a large blast of lightning into the crowd of monsters below us, scattering them. I started noticing a werewolf here and there, and that's when I realized we had no silver. If we couldn't get ahold of a knife or something, we couldn't do much more than constantly slash them to puddles. I dove into the fray and swept my sword into a spider, exploding her into gold powder.

"Just like the old days." Jason laughed, letting another burst of lightning forth

"If I remember correctly," Leo said "We almost died multiple times in the old days."

"The old days sucked," Piper agreed "Kind of."

"Well," I laughed, slashing down another cultist "I lost my mother, went on a quest to get something I didn't actually steal, came back with it, went to get a long lost object against the wishes of the camp director, lost Annabeth, rescued Annabeth and Artemis, navigated the Labrynth, found a long lost demigod, protected my home, blew up a ship, protected my city, fought the lord of time, then I lost my memory, went to a camp we didn't know existed, went to Alaska, found you guys, fell into Tartarus with the girl I love, walked through it, came through the doors of death, and then fought the Earth and her bloodthirsty kids."

"Hell of an old days." Leo laughed, smashing a spider

Hazel used her Spatha to keep the werewolves at bay while we tried to thin down the monster ranks, but we were beginning to get backed up. I kicked away a spider and realized we had plowed a path straight to the path up the mountain, where four old enemies were awaiting us.

"Percy!" Carter yelled "We've got company."

"Lycaon." Jason growled

"Narcissus!" Leo yelled "How ya doin' pretty boy?"

"Is that who I think it is?" Walt asked, indicating to Arachne

"If you think it's Arachne, big, bad ass spider bitch," I shrugged "Then yeah, that's exactly who you think it is."

"Chrysaor," Piper said "Was kind of hoping he wasn't going to show up."

"I thought we destroyed them," Jason said "What the hell man?"

"It's Tartarus," I shrugged "Probably brought them here and made a deal."

"Of course," Jason muttered "Let's make them stay dead this time."

"I don't like spiders," Hazel said "I really don't like them."

"I don't know anybody who does." Leo said

I slashed away another cultist as Chrysaor made his way to me, his sword raised in triumph. His golden mask gleamed in the blood red light, the gorgon face eerily snarling at me. I kicked away another cultist and cut apart a spider, then turned a werewolf into a puddle.

"Good to see you again Percy Jackson," Chrysaor said, swinging his sword at me "We hardly got to really finish our last duel."

"Yeah, not really sure if I regret that." I said, defending

He lunged at me but I parried his blade into a cultist, causing him to cut his own man's throat. I took a shot at his neck but he deflected it, pushing me away as he did so. I had trained a lot since I had last met him, but I couldn't hold against him forever. We went back and forth for a moment, each trying to best the other quickly. I occasionally had to kill a cultist or a spider or something that broke through but for the most part, they let their general take care of his business, which I was grateful for because I could barely hold my own as it was.

"You've been practicing," Chrysaor noted "Impressive."

"I try," I said, deflecting his blade again "You on the other hand, I'm not impressed."

"What a bluff son of Poseidon," He laughed, swinging again "You're reaching your limit."

He was right, I was sweating and tiring out fast. I blocked his blade again and kicked him back, and found myself next to Carter. He swung at Chrysaor, trying to use the numbers game, but it was to very little effect. Chrysaor deflected his blade with ease and took us both on, not even breaking a sweat.

"Percy!" Carter yelled, kicking at Chrysaor "Get to the mountain, I'll take this guy."

"No," I said "You can't take him alone."

"I don't have to," He replied "I'll hold him."

I knew Carter was right, somebody had to get up there. I took one last desperate swipe at Chrysaor, which he deflected with ease. I moved to run and he tried to stop me, but Carter pushed his blade away and shouldered him backwards.

"Sorry buddy," He said angrily "You're _my _problem now."

I didn't hear Chrysaor's retort because I was already sprinting towards the mountain, knowing I would have a long climb to the top, and not much time to get there.

Annabeth:

My arms were beginning to ache, and Tartarus was getting impatient. Nobody said much of anything, because there wasn't much to be said. Sadie gave me a sad smile when I woke up, but she was too far away for us to talk.

"So the son of Artemis is dead then?" My mother whispered from beside me

"If they say he was on the ship when it exploded," I whispered back "Then there's no way he could have survived it."

"Poor Artemis," She said "I suppose the prophecy comes to pass, with still so much unknown."

"The prophecy didn't say anything about Raven dying," I said, confused "It said one would die, but now Raven _and _Jennifer are dead, I'm confused."

"Not the prophecy for _this _quest," She replied "I've said too much dear, all in due time."

"Is that like the Olympian moto for this year?" I grumbled

My mother didn't answer, so I let my thoughts drift to our fallen friend. Raven had so much life in him, so much to give, and it was all taken away from him. Orion had said he died a hero's death, he had died protecting the others, given his life for people he barely knew. I felt bad for Artemis, her only son was dead. Sure he wasn't always a good person, and maybe some could argue that he deserved to die, but he was still our friend. He never even got a chance to change.

"They're essence is draining steadily Father," Orion said "Soon our victory will be complete."

"Yes," Tartarus mused "I think it's time to kill another demigod."

I subconsciously glanced over at Jennifer's body, or where it used to be. It was now a small flower lying in a pool of blood, a sad and beautiful sight all at once. Tartarus looked between Thalia, Frank, and I, his face emotionless. Finally, his gaze settled on me and he grinned with evil intentions.

"Her," He said "The daughter of Athena."

"Are you sure?" Orion joked "There'll be no going back, you can't play with her for long."

"I'm quite positive," Tartarus said "I remember her well, you will not escape me this time, Annabeth Chase."

"I'd rather you didn't do that actually," A familiar voice called out "If you don't mind that is."

I looked up, afraid I had imagined it, but I hadn't. Percy was standing at the top of the path, Riptide in his hand, looking very angry. Orion drew his knives and Percy raised his sword, knowing he was outmatched, but Tartarus made no move, he simply turned to face Percy.

"Ahh yes, the famous Percy Jackson," He laughed "Do you wish to die before your beloved then? So be it."

"Percy!" Poseidon called "Forget about us, take the others and get out of here, you'll all be destroyed!"

"I'm afraid that's a risk we'll have to take Dad," Percy said, looking directly at me "I kind of live to do things that will destroy me."

"You expect to face us alone?" Orion laughed "We will destroy you in seconds."

"He's not alone!" A voice yelled

Jason came up beside Percy, breathing heavily. He had clearly sprinted all the way up here, or at least most of it. He doubled over, grabbing his knees, holding one finger up. Percy looked at him with confusion, as though he wasn't sure why he was here.

"I thought you were still down there with the others." Percy said

"I saw you running up here," Jason said, catching his breath "I figured you could use a hand."

"Yeah," Percy agreed, looking at Tartarus and Orion "You're probably right."

"Am I ever wrong?" Jason asked, drawing his sword

"Enough of this pointless conversation," Tartarus said, drawing his own weapon "Come demigods, meet your doom."

"If I had a dollar for everytime I heard that." Jason said, advancing with Percy

"We could probably hire people to do this for us." Percy shrugged

Without another word, they charged. Orion met Jason's blade while Tartarus met Percy's, and a furious battle began. I focused more on Percy and Tartarus than I did Jason and Orion, not to say either one wasn't living up to expectations. Percy had a slight, blue aura around his body, the blessing of Poseidon. He fought with ferocity in each strike, every one aimed to kill. Jason sent a bolt of lightning at Orion, who took it full on to the chest. Orion wouldn't be defeated without the help of a god, but that seemed like a minor detail at the moment.

"You're too noble for your own good," Tartarus said, pushing Percy back towards me "You should have left, and abandoned your friends when you had the chance."

"See I might have done that," Percy said, blocking his blade "Except you kinda have my girlfriend."

"Oh nice to know you would've just left the rest of us." Thalia muttered

Percy dodged Tartarus's swing and came up with his sword raised high, stabbing Tartarus in the rib. He roared in pain and spartan kicked Percy onto his back, forcing him to let go of Riptide. Percy tried to jump on him but Tartarus caught him, and threw him back into the pillar binding my right arm.

"Percy!" I yelled as his head smacked the bricks

"You've only lasted this long because I was weakened by those cursed friends of yours," Tartarus said, ripping Percy's sword out and throwing it to the side "It was good to devour them. How does it feel, knowing you couldn't save them?"

Percy roared in anger and lunged forward, something that Tartarus wasn't expecting. Percy punched him hard in the jaw, causing his helmet to fly off his head and clatter to the ground. I spared a glance to Jason and Orion, where Orion was kicking Jason away. Jason blocked his knives and elbowed him in the face, causing him to back up quickly. I looked back at Percy and Tartarus just a few feet in front of me, where Percy had knocked Tartarus's blade from his hand, and they now battled in hand to hand combat.

"Where are they?" Percy roared at him "What did you do to them?"

Tartarus only grinned evilly at him, which infuriated Percy even more. Percy threw a punch, but Tartarus parried it, and caught Percy clean in the face. Blood immediately began to flow from his nose, and Percy backed up. Tartarus extended his hand, letting his sword fly into it. Before Percy could react, Tartarus shoved his blade into Percy's stomach.

"PERCY!" I screamed

"NO!" Poseidon yelled

"PERCE!" Jason yelled, slamming Orion down

Percy slumped forward and Tartarus grabbed him by the throat, and tossed him to the side. Orion was pressing Jason, and he was powerless to help. I watched, helpless, as Percy's lifeless body slammed into the ground, and didn't get back up.

"No challenge," Tartarus said "Now, where were we, daughter of Athena?"

He approached me, his sword held loosely at his side. He stroked my cheek, which made my mother turn away, not wanting to watch what he was going to do to me. Aphrodite stared at us intensely, probably thinking about a way to make me and Tartarus fall in love.

"Don't fear," He said "You'll be with your beloved soon, of course, you'll all be devoured soon afterwards, so I guess it doesn't matter."

He raised his sword to strike, and I stared him right in the eye. If he was going to kill me, I wouldn't be going out without some courage. I would be facing my death with dignity, and cold determination. As his blade came down, a flash of celestial bronze caught my eye, and Riptide suddenly collided with Tartarus's sword. Percy stood next to me, one hand pressing the wound on his stomach, the other gripping Riptide in an attempt to block Tartarus's blade, his face a mixture of rage and pain.

"You will not touch her," Percy growled, his eyes ablaze with fury "I won't let you hurt her, so long as I still draw breath."

Percy wasn't just angry, he was furious. Nothing set Percy off like somebody threatening to harm me, and although I was fully aware I could protect myself just fine, I still thought it was cute how protective Percy was of me. However, in this case, it would get us both killed, but Percy wouldn't let him lay a finger on me as long as he was still alive.

"Impressive," Tartarus said "And very noble, but still not enough. I will destroy you, and there's nothing you can do about it."

"I beg to differ." Percy said, elbowing him in the face and pushing him back

Suddenly, Percy began glowing several different colors all at once. I saw purple, black, red, grey, silver, white, green, gold, two different shades of blue, and several other colors. My eyes focused particularly on the grey one, the blessing of Athena. I glanced at Jason, who had the same effect around him. He fought Orion with renewed energy, moving faster than I'd ever seen him move. Percy swung at Tartarus, still holding the wound on his stomach.

"I hate the fact that I can't disapprove of him when he does things like this." My mother said sadly

Percy and Tartarus fought, but Percy was now driven by rage. If he failed, I would be hurt, and he wouldn't allow that to happen. He kicked Tartarus away and swung at him, knocking his blade to the side. He slammed his head into Tartarus's, stunning him.

"I! WILL! NOT! LET! YOU! HURT! HER!" Percy screamed in rage, swinging his sword with every word

Tartarus deflected the blows with ease, but he couldn't get inside Percy's guard. Percy wasn't giving him a chance to go on offense, which was good since Percy's defense was basically gone at the moment. Jason called another blast of lightning at Tartarus and Orion, almost connecting with both of them. Jason was tiring, and the only thing keeping him up was the blessings of the thirteen Olympians around us. Percy took a wild swing, which Tartarus sidestepped. It was the opening he needed, and he took full advantage of it. He elbowed Percy in the face, and grabbed him by the throat, and tossed him to the ground.

"As I said," Tartarus said "Nothing you can do about it."

"Annabeth," Percy choked "I'm sorry."

I felt tears coming to my eyes, and Tartarus swung to deliver the killing blow. But before he could connect, a ball of silver light shot out of nowhere and hit him in the head. He roared in anger and looked at the direction it had come from. Raven was standing at the top of the path, his sword drawn, and Amber by his side.

"I don't believe we've met," Raven said "My name is Raven Alistair, son of Artemis, and you two are starting to piss me off."

**God bless ya'll, hit that review button, flames and suggestions accepted. Love ya.**


	12. Mist, wolves, and Cripz

**What's up guys? Who doing what? I don't care, love ya'll, God bless, I don't own PJO, KC, or HOO, so LET'S GOOOOO!**

Chapter 12: Mist, wolves, and Cripz

Amber:

I shot an arrow at a spider, scoring a direct hit. It exploded into golden powder, but was quickly replaced. Percy and Jason had headed to the top, and the idea was to finish down here and head up to help them, but it was much easier said than done. Carter and Walt were doing their best with Chrysaor, but they were tiring. Arachne had badly wounded Piper, and she had eaten more than the recommended amount of Ambrosia. She fought the spider alongside Hazel, as well as countless cultists, spiders, and werewolves. I used my silver knife to kill some of them, but they had learned to steer clear from me. Lycaon himself was attacking Hazel and Piper, but they had fought him off so far.

"Not cursed to look at yourself anymore," I heard Leo say "And you _still _can't fight."

I risked a quick glance at Leo, who was battling Narcissus with ease. Leo used his hammer to knock away his sword, which was beginning to anger him. Occasionally, Leo had to take down a cultist or spider, but we had thinned their numbers a bit, there was only about two hundred of them. We had killed about a hundred and ten or so, but eventually the numbers game would catch up to us.

"Get off me!" I yelled at a werewolf who had jumped at me

I sidestepped him then stabbed him in the back, turning him into nothing but a black puddle. Lycaon turned his attention from Piper and Hazel, and onto me. In a few bounds he was standing less than five feet in front of me, a sick smile plastered to his face.

"It's been a while since I've had the flesh of a hunter," He laughed "I must say, most of you aren't really worth the trouble."

"Then you really won't like me." I said, sheathing my bow and readying my knife

I slashed down another werewolf as Lycaon pounced. I kicked him out of the air and slashed downwards, but he was quicker than the other wolves, probably the reason for the leadership. I knew werewolves harbored a bit of resentment for hunters of Artemis, but I had never understood why. Lycaon didn't seem to care about the fact that I had a silver blade, he was as reckless with his attacks as if I had a celestial bronze one.

"Oh you're a feisty one," He laughed, jumping again "I like you, perhaps I'll keep you as a pet."

"Do all bad guys only say one liners during a fight?" I asked him, sidestepping and taking a shot at his neck

"Are all good guys so sarcastic?" He asked, dodging my knife

I shrugged and kicked at his knee, which he dodged with ease. I realized what I had done a moment too late, when Lycaon moved behind me. I was lifted off my feet and thrown forward, my silver blade flying from my grasp. I slammed into the dirt and turned quickly to my back, using my bow to keep his teeth from my face as he pounced.

"All that talk," He growled "And you barely even put up a fight."

I felt my bow straining, and I knew I had maybe ten seconds max before the strain broke it and I was dog food. I looked around for a miracle, anything I could use to get myself out of this situation, when a lone wolf pounced onto Lycaon. It wasn't a werewolf, just a wolf, like the ones the hunt used. It had a scar running through it's left eye, and familiar looking raven shaped patch of white fur on it's left shoulder blade, mixed in with it's dark brown fur. He backed off of Lycaon and stepped in front of me, protecting me from further attack.

"Brought a friend?" Lycaon growled at me, trying to get around the wolf

"He's not mine," I said "But I doubt it makes a difference, he's on my side."

The wolf growled and pounced at a cultist that had gotten too close, ripping his throat out with his teeth. I jumped to my feet and recovered my knife, cutting down another werewolf in mid jump. Lycaon and the wolf had resumed battle, growling, snapping, swiping, and clawing at eachother in a vicious dog fight. Lycaon fell to the ground and the wolf took the opportunity to jump on him, which Lycaon was not happy about. He used his legs to kick the wolf back, hopping to his feet as he did so. When the wolf landed, he did something strange, he morphed into a human, a familiar human.

"Got a problem with the Hunters?" Raven growled "Take it up with me."

"Who are you?" Lycaon demanded "And what makes this matter any of your business?"

"I am the son of Artemis," He said, his hand blazing with silver light "And you, my friend, have just become an enemy of the Hunt."

"What?" Lycaon gasped in shock "But Orion said you-"

"Orion is just as weak minded as the rest of you," Raven said, his tone dangerously low "Did you really think I wasn't gonna come in here with a plan? Especially once I found out about some of the shit I'm capable of?"

"The mist," Lycaon said, understanding dawning on his face as he waved the advancing werewolves off "You've learned to manipulate it, impressive I must say, truly I do applaud you son of Artemis, but I'm afraid you will soon meet a very real death."

"I've got one or two more tricks up my sleeve," He shrugged, indicating somewhere over his shoulder with his thumb "Turns out, Nyx is a pretty helpful goddess if you know how to talk to her."

"You don't have anything I haven't seen before," Lycaon growled "Nothing can save you."

"Wouldn't be so sure about that." Raven said, his signature troublemaker grin coming to his face

He pulled me behind him, raising his sword in the air. It glowed with a bright silver light, causing Lycaon and his wolves to turn away. I wasn't normally the type of person to hide while somebody else protected me, but I wasn't sure what Raven had up his sleeve, and I certainly didn't want to be in front of him when I found out.

"Οι πεσμένοι αδελφοί μου," He called out "έλα τώρα, με βοηθήστε!"

The glow in his sword began to pulse, and he shoved it into the ground. Immediately, a small crevice opened, and hands began appearing. The crevice widened, and boys dressed in blue began pulling themselves out. I recognized the two boys from Raven's memories, Free and Money, and a few other faces I had seen. They looked just like the cultists, clearly dead, but not exactly shades. Smoker and Shade pulled themselves up, I saw the boy who had given the speech on top of the car, I saw countless other faces I knew from his memories too, and I knew what he had done. Raven had just called on his brothers, just like Artemis calls on her sisters, Raven had summoned his own little hunt.

"Whoooo," Free said, standing to full height "Been a minute since somebody needed my help, who's getting popped today?"

"What?" Lycaon demanded "Impossible, you-"

"Clearly it's possible, because I just did it," Raven said, his tone still low "I'll give you one chance to turn away with your tail between your legs and run, if you don't take it, then I'll show you what happens to people I don't like."

"This dude a killa!" Money yelled at Lycaon "Run, dumbass!"

"I will not run!" Lycaon declared "I will destroy you, son of Artemis, you and all of your friends."

"I was hoping you'd say that," Raven said, pulling his lighter and flicking it "Because I wasn't actually going to let you go anyways."

Without another word, Raven and the rest of the Crips surged forth, outnumbering the werewolves eight to one. Raven broke for Lycaon immediately, slashing at him. His sword was fused together with celestial bronze, Stygian iron, and silver, Lycaon would be in a lot of pain if he caught a cut from that blade. The Crips were attacking the wolves by going five on one and beating them into black puddles, until Raven could make his way over and finish them off. I attacked Lycaon with Raven, but he was still faster than both of us.

"When this is over," I told Raven "I'm going to punch you."

"For what?" Raven asked, sidestepping Lycaon's jump

"For making us think you were dead," I said "I'm still not sure if I believe it, that you're alive."

"I am though," He said, blasting light at a werewolf "Get used to it, you guys ain't gonna get rid of me that easily."

Lycaon roared in frustration and pounced at us, his fangs bared. Raven stepped to the side while I rolled underneath him, Lycaon not noticing me. Raven grabbed him by the back of his neck as he landed and pulled him backwards, where I was waiting with my blades held high. I plunged them into Lycaon's back, grinning in triumph while he screamed in pain and swore eternal vengeance on us all.

"That was fun," Raven said "Oh look, the others are running."

He was right, the other werewolves were fleeing in terror, running every which direction. Piper came up next to us, her eyes wide in disbelief when she saw Raven. She looked around at all the dead Crips, both fallen and still standing, and nearly fainted.

"Raven?" She asked, not sure if it was him

"I'll explain later," Raven said "But long story short, I'm not dead."

"I can see that," Piper said "But how?"

"I used my power to keep me protected from the blast," Raven said "It sent me flying off to the side and I passed out, but before I could hit the ground and become a pancake, Nyx caught me."

"Nyx?" She asked

"Yeah, we sat down, had a little talk," He shrugged as if it were no big deal "She sorta tried to kill me but in the process she ended up teaching me a few new tricks."

Piper shook her head, as if the information were a little too much at one time. Raven signaled for the Crips to begin an all out attack, which they happily obliged. They swarmed into the cultists and spiders, taking them by surprise. I followed close to Raven, determined not to let him die for real this time, but he didn't need my help. He fought like a whirlwind, taking down anybody who got close to him.

"Son of Artemis," Chrysaor boomed, kicking Carter to the side into Walt "Face me!"

"Will do." Raven shrugged, and broke for him

There were no more words exchanged as their blades crossed in the air, Raven and I fighting as a team. I hacked at Chrysaor's armor while Raven kept his blade busy, but I couldn't do much damage, his armor was too thick, I resigned to attacking weak points, under his arm, occasionally taking a strike at his neck whenever it was exposed, but he was careful to keep it protected. Chrysaor threw a strike at Raven's chest, but Raven was quick. He threw up his sword and deflected the blade, immediately moving in to deliver the blow on his exposed neck.

"Impressive," Chrysaor said, blocking the strike "Percy Jackson has trained you hasn't he? I recognize that style anywhere, trained by Luke Castellan."

"It doesn't matter who trained me," Raven spat, blocking another strike "You're a dead man either way."

Chrysaor laughed and swung again, almost hitting Raven's right arm. Raven's right hand reached towards his waistband quicker than Chrysaor could even follow. I cut down another cultist and looked back just in time to see Raven pulling his gun out, and firing two quick shots at Chrysaor. One went wide but I heard a small thunk sound, and Chrysaor roared in pain, swiping his sword at Raven. I took the open opportunity and stabbed at Chrysaor's exposed shoulder. He roared in pain again, and grabbed me by the throat. His powerful hands squeezed my throat, and I was powerless against his strength, he was three times my size.

"Die hunter," He laughed "Die at my hands."

"PUT! HER! DOWN!" I heard Raven roar from behind me

Suddenly, Chrysaor dropped me. As I fell, my vision went blurry for a moment, and then came back. Raven had slammed into Chrysaor with such force, I had been knocked from his grasp. Their swords had been knocked out of their hands by the impact, and Raven was now attacking him like an animal. Despite the size difference, Raven tossed Chrysaor back and forth like he was nothing. I stayed back, not eager to get in Raven's line of sight. He had a wild, untamed look in his eyes, more than anger. It was pure, uncontrolled, blinding, animalistic, hateful, blood lusting rage. He grabbed Chrysaor by the strap of his armor and slammed him into the ground, glaring at him.

"I warned Lycaon," He growled "I'm not going to warn you, I hate repeating myself."

Chrysaor tried to push Raven off of him, but he was planted firmly. Raven's hand closed around Chrysaor's throat and he began squeezing, his other hand grabbed a stone off of the ground and raised it high, bringing it down on his masked head, then again, and again, and again, and again. All the while, Chrysaor was choking and gasping for breath.

"Raven," I said gently placing my hand on his shoudler after Chrysaor stopped struggling "Raven?"

He was shaking with rage, he turned to look me in the eye and I drew back, pulling my hand away as I did so. For a moment, I thought he might attack me too, but his eyes softened a bit and his breathing steadied. He stood to his feet, drawing another shaky breath.

"That happens too," He told me "Nyx explained it, kind of a trait from my mother. In a certain amount of anger, I'll become like a wild animal, an rip apart anything in my path."

"Sounds scary," I said "So always be on your good side, right?"

"Yeah," He said, sounding far off "That would be best."

I put my hand on his arm, letting him know I was there. The battle had pushed back a bit more towards the mountain, and we were alone in a small section of the clearing. Raven looked up to the top of the mountain, where lightning strikes could be seen flashing all across the mountain top, Jason and Percy were putting up a fight.

"I'm going to the top," Raven said "I'll do my best, but if I don't come back-"

"You're not actually suffering under the delusion that you're going up there alone are you?" I demanded, pulling my knife out

"You are not going up there with me," He said "It's too dangerous."

"Oh don't give me that," I said, rolling my eyes "I may be a daughter of Aphrodite, but I won't sit out and let other's fight for me."

"You want to come up there, then be my guest," He laughed "But I'm putting a Crip tag on your shroud."

"I'll haunt you." I threatened

He rolled his eyes and the two of us made our way towards the path, which was guarded. Carter and Walt were keeping Arachne busy while Leo still toyed with Narcissus, and the Crips were battling cultists and spiders. Raven and I dashed directly into the fray, slashing and hacking anything that got close. It didn't take us long to reach the path, and we didn't waste any time once we finally got there. Good thing too, because we got the top at the very last moment, something I had discovered most demigods had a habit of doing.

Raven:

Tartarus immediately forgot about Percy when he saw me, and he stepped over him, his sword held to his side. I gripped mine and Orion readied his blades, glaring at Amber and I. Jason used the distraction to drag Percy away, and before Tartarus or Orion could do anything, they were both over by us.

"Get Percy down that mountain," I told him "The others are still there, and Piper has the ambrosia."

"How are you-" Jason began is disbelief

"Nevermind that," I cut him off "I'll explain later, go."

He obliged and Amber and I advanced, our weapons raised. She headed towards Orion, and I headed to Tartarus. I wanted to fight Orion so badly, but I also knew that Amber couldn't stand against Tartarus, not for long anyways. Hell, I didn't even know if I could do it.

"I've been looking forward to meeting you," Tartarus said to me "I must say, I was a bit disappointed when Orion told me of your death."

"Well I didn't want to disappoint you," I said sarcastically "So I came back."

"Enough of this," Orion spat "Father, let me kill him."

"No," Tartarus snapped "The son of Artemis is mine, kill the hunter."

Orion didn't look happy, as though Amber was just some sort of consolation prize. Orion wanted to fight me as badly as I wanted to fight him, and he wouldn't be defeated unless we could free one of the gods, and it wasn't very likely that we could do that.

"Keep Orion occupied as long as you can," I whispered to Amber "Once I can break those chains and free one of the gods, we can take him down."

"What about Tartarus?" She whispered back

"I'll have to multitask." I shrugged

We moved forward together, our weapons raised. Tartarus and Orion stood still, letting us come forward, their weapons readied in a fighting stance. I took a quick glance around and saw everybody was watching us, silently willing us to win. I saw my mother with a small glimmer of hope in her eyes, she had thought I was dead too. If I had tricked my own mother into believing I was dead, then the mist had done it's job well.

"Welcome, son of Artemis," Tartarus said "To my domain, this very realm is my being, and your soul will wander it for eternity."

"Can we just not?" I demanded "I've had a long day, I'm tired, hungry, frustrated, fuck the boasting let's just do this so I can go home and smoke a blunt."

"Very well," Tartarus agreed "The quicker your death then."

We moved at the same time, our blades colliding in the air. He swept his backwards and came around the other side, aiming for my neck. I blocked, pushing his sword away and advancing on him again. I went on autopilot, slashing, blocking, dodging, kicking, anything I could do to keep him off of me, and it was working for the most part.

"Gah!" Tartarus spat as I elbowed him in the face for the fourth time "If I wasn't weakened from my battle with that Titan and the Giant, I would have devoured your soul by now!"

"Eh," I laughed, shrugging "I don't have one anyways."

I reached deep inside my will, using the last trick I had up my sleeve. Nyx had told me of a select group of male hunters, the only men in the world my mother could actually stand, and she taught me how to draw power from their spirits. I felt as if I had the strength of fifty men, energy surged through me and I attacked with renewed force. Tartarus could feel my energy too, and it worried him, I could see it in his eyes. I had felt his energy before I even got to the top of the mountain, dark power, uncontrolled, pure evil. I dodged his sword and came up with a strike of my own, aiming for his sword hand. I collided with his blade and sent it flying from his grasp, and I had the upper hand. He dove at me as I swung, catching his shoulder. Ichor began flowing from the wound, but he didn't seem to feel it. He flew into me, causing me to lose my blade, now it was hand to hand.

"Raven!" My mother yelled "Amber!"

At the mention of her name, I turned. Amber was lying on the ground, Orion bearing down on her. I sent a burst of silver light just as Tartarus slammed into me, but my aim was true. It hit Orion, knocking him off his feet. I turned quickly and kicked Tartarus away from me, throwing a punch to his face as I did so.

"Face it boy!" Tartarus spat, retreating "You cannot win!"

"Our aim isn't to win," I said, my voice sounding multiplied as it echoed along the mountains "But we will do everything we can to try and stop you."

Tartarus advanced again and this time I was ready, planting a kick right to his kneecap as he moved. He drew back and I went fully on the offensive, throwing punches left and right as he backed away. I let a burst of silver light go into his face, the another into his stomach. He flew backwards, landing on his back. I advanced on him, preparing to move in for the final blow.

"Now, spirit of the pit," I growled, my hand blazing with silver light "Face our justice."

"My master will destroy you," Tartarus growled "You will never triumph."

There it was again, that word, master. Tartarus was serving someone else, he wasn't the mastermind of this plot, he was just a pawn. I didn't have time to dwell on it, I had a job to do. I raised my hand, preparing to bring it down on him, hoping it might scatter his essence, I was packing a lot of power behind this one. Tartarus brought his knee up and swept my legs out from under me, kicking back as he did so. I hit the ground hard and I felt all the power leave me, and I felt drained, like I had just run a mile. Tartarus let his sword fly to his hand, then he advanced slowly.

"It's a shame I have to kill you," He said, pointing his blade in my face "You could be a powerful ally. Join me, son of Artemis, what have the gods done for you? What has your mother done for you?"

I glanced over at my mother, who was watching with fearful eyes. I knew what she was thinking, but I wasn't going to be tempted. I set my jaw and looked Tartarus in the eye, making my defiance and anger very apparent on my face.

"She took me in, she gave me a home," I said, glaring at him "That's what my mother has done for me, she's given me a second chance to change who I am, from who I used to be. I am the son of Artemis, I will never join you, or the master you serve."

"So be it," Tartarus said, raising his blade "Death then."

"Sorry, Mom," I whispered, watching the blade drop and hoping she would hear "I've failed you."

**WHASSUP! Don't tell me nothing boy just get on that review butttooonnnnnnnn! LES GO! HIT IT! DROP! THAT! REVIEW! FOOLZZZ! Flames and suggestions both accepted, God bless.**


	13. To the death

**Hey guys. I just want to cover something that I've noticed. When I type in the name of a site, it won't let me post it. It will just leave a blank space were it was so sorry about that. I know it is a bit of confusion, anyways thank you for returning once again to me. I love all of my readers and I don't have very many of them. Also just want to cover some of you may have noticed when I spell Crips I spell it Cripz. That is only when I am talking about one of their tattoos, or in the case of the last chapter, just for the title. Also one more thing, The Crips have celestial bronze blades and bullets, I just kind of skipped over that one. I do not own Percy Jackson so without any further ado, because we need none, we are off ladies and germs. WARNING! I STOLE A LINE FROM THE FIRST TRANSFORMERS MOVIE! SORRY MEGATRON! NOT REALLY! FIGHT ME!**

Chapter 13: To the death

Artemis:

My heart flared with joy and pride at Raven's words, at his blatant defiance of Tartarus. In the face of certain death, he still refused to give in, and now he was going to die. I saw a flash of movement as Tartarus brought his blade down, and Amber stood in front of Raven, Tartarus's sword caught in her blades. Orion as getting to his feet and pounced on her, but Raven cut him off in an instant. He stood up quickly, pulling his gun from his waistband as he did so. He shoved it under Orion's chin, making him freeze. Raven pistol whipped Orion in the face and broke to recover his sword, while Amber began a fierce battle with Tartarus.

"Stand down," Tartarus demanded of her "Perhaps I will keep you as a pet, help amuse me in the new age."

"I am a hunter of Artemis," Amber said defiantly "I will not give up, I will fight to my dying breath."

"So be it, hunter." Tartarus said, striking at her

She deflected and threw his blade backwards, and pressed her attack. I found my gaze drawn to Orion and Raven, an even fiercer fight than I had anticipated. Both combatants fought with intention to kill in every strike, revenge driving both of their blades. Raven struck at Orion's head, but he ducked, sending one of his knives at Raven's ribs. Raven sidestepped and swept downwards, forcing Orion to roll away from him, giving Raven a second to breath. As soon as he came up, Raven rushed Orion, pressing him backwards, until they were mere feet from where I was chained.

"You cannot beat me son of Artemis," Orion said, diving back suddenly, and using me as a human shield "Your mother knows this, tell him Artemis, tell him the truth."

"Step away from my mother," Raven growled, his rage very clear "You will never hurt her, you are a coward Orion, fight me. Or are you really the poor excuse for a hunter that Apollo told us about?"

"Why you ignorant-" Orion said, stepping out

He was so angry at Raven's taunt that he was at a loss for words, he couldn't think straight, which is exactly what Raven had wanted. He struck at Orion with pure fury, taking pleasure in every single cut he inflicted, every bruise he caused.

"You look just like your father," Orion taunted "It will be good to watch the life drain from your face just as it did his."

Raven screamed in rage and struck again, pushing Orion away from me, but Orion had gotten to him. As he rushed again, Orion dodged and came up, his knife poised. He stabbed at Raven, but Raven sensed it and moved to the side, and the knife only grazed his arm. Raven rushed Orion again, but Orion had one last trick up his sleeve. He lashed out with his metal boot, smashing Raven on the side of the temple, dropping him. When Raven hit, he immediately tried to get to his feet, but Orion planted another kick to his head, knocking him back down, where he stayed.

"This is more fun that I was promised," Orion laughed "I thank you, I haven't had a challenge like that in a while."

He turned towards me and stepped behind me, stroking my hair and my cheek. I pulled away in disgust, but he grabbed my face and forced me to look at him. He stepped around in front of me, and gave me an evil grin. I struggled to get away but he held tight, and kissed me. His lips were on mine for nearly three seconds before a roar of absolute fury was head, and Orion was suddenly thrown away from me. I looked around and saw Raven, his head bleeding, standing up with his hands blazing with silver light, he had blasted Orion into the pillar on my right, and then he did it again.

"DO! NOT! TOUCH! MY! MOTHER!" He screamed, flinging a ball of silver light into Orion with every word, and stepping closer as he did so "YOU! SORRY! FUCKING! SACK! OF! SHIT! I'LL! FUCKING! KILL! YOU!"

Orion yelled in pain everytime the ball connected, but it wouldn't kill him. I glanced back at Amber and Tartarus, realizing Amber was losing. Tartarus swept at her and she dodged back, then rushed forward again. He swiped at her and struck her chest, causing her to cry out. Tartarus picked her up by the throat and tossed her to the side, not exactly very gentle. Raven heard her and turned, his anger suddenly multiplying. Tartarus advanced on Raven, and something happened.

"NO!" He roared, flinging a column of silver light at Tartarus

It struck, but didn't do much, and that's when I noticed a change in Raven. His eyes had turned completely silver again, like pure moonlight, and his energy had spiked, a lot. He had gone from weak and running entirely off anger to something entirely different. His anger had caused it, he had triggered some sort of power. He raised his sword and charged, swinging at Tartarus. Orion grabbed his knives and rejoined the fight, but Raven was faster than both of them. All three of them aimed to kill with every strike, and Raven was dodging, blocking, slashing, and moving better than people who had been training for centuries.

"You cannot beat us both, son of Artemis," Orion taunted as Raven backed away "Sooner or later, you will give up."

"You'll be waiting a little bit." Raven growled, striking again

He rushed in, clashing with Tartarus's blade and kicking Orion in the gut. Amber was still down, but she was shifting herself, trying to work up the energy to rise to her feet. But Tartarus's blade had struck her in the chest, and now it was slowly draining her energy.

"This could be going a tad bit worse," I heard the magician girl say from my other side "But it could also be going much better."

"We'll simply have to hope what we have is enough," Thalia said "Because it's literally our ace in the hole."

"He will do it," I said "I have faith in him, he will win this fight."

Raven ducked Orion's blades and blocked Tartarus's from his throat, letting himself be pressed back until they were mere feet in front of us again, and I realized what he was doing before he even did it. He jumped backwards, putting about a foot between Orion, Tartarus, and him. His hands blazed with silver light again and he blasted them both with a ball the size of large rock, sending them flying backwards.

"You look helpful," Raven said, turning to me "I could use help."

He grabbed the chains binding my hands, and concentrated. The chains too were engulfed in silver light, and then they shattered. I was amazed, he had figured out how to break the chains, how to free us. He went for the ones at my ankles, and soon, they too, shattered. Raven had done it, I was free.

Raven:

My mother's knives materialized into her hands the second the chains on her ankles broke, and she stepped in front of me, preparing to fight. I advanced behind her, my sword raised high. Tartarus and Orion were getting up and readying their weapons as well, but now the odds were even again.

"Well well," Orion said "It has been a long time since we've crossed blades, hasn't it, Artemis?"

"Too long." My mother agreed, readying her knives

We rushed forward together, our weapons already in motion. Tartarus blocked my first strike and swung at me, but I deflected his blade and came in for another one. I pressed him back, still not entirely sure how I would defeat him. Our blades collided again with such force that they were both knocked out of our hands, I blasted him with silver light, trying to use whatever I could. He dodged it and jumped at me, pinning me to the ground.

"The gods don't deserve to rule." Tartarus growled, his hand closing around my throat

"It's better than the alternative." I choked, struggling

"You believe this?" He asked

"I know it." I spat back

"Then you will die with them!" He yelled, lifting me off the ground and throwing me towards Aphrodite

I slammed into the pillar chaining her right foot and hand, and my head snapped back into it. My vision went blurry for a moment and then came back into focus, just as Tartarus was bearing down on me, intent to kill written clearly across his face.

"Join them in extinction!" He yelled, lifting me off the ground again, still pinned to the pillar

"Raven!" I heard my mother yell, trying to get through Orion

"Chance after chance I have given you, to join us," Tartarus said, throwing me to the left "And yet, you still fight for the weak, that is why you lose."

I scrambled to my feet and blocked his fist, sending a punch of my own and catching him in the jaw. I threw another one and connected again, then I ducked down and planted my foot to his stomach. He doubled over and was forced to step back. I let my hands blaze with silver light, and stepped away from him.

"I am the son of Artemis," I said as the ball of light got bigger "I am not weak, I am a hunter, and you are my prey."

I let the ball go at him, knowing I would hit. It was the size of a TV, and it struck dead on, sending him flying backwards. I advanced at him, sending balls of silver light with every step I took. I felt my energy draining from me, this was taking a lot to keep it up, and I couldn't do it forever. With Tartarus down for a moment, I turned on Orion, and sent one his way. He didn't see it until it was too late, and he took it full on. I ran towards my mother, grabbing my sword as I did so.

"Raven!" My mother yelled as I drew close "Stop! Finish-"

She didn't get to finish what she was saying, because I ran right past her and at Orion. He jumped to his feet and raised his blades just as my sword came down, colliding with his knives. My mother jumped in to help and we pressed him back. I looked back, but Tartarus had disappeared, and I didn't have time to look around for him because Orion came back with renewed force. I blocked his strike and returned one of my own, my mother danced around his blades, planting strikes whenever she saw an opening.

"Your attempts are in vain," Orion coughed as my mother kicked him to the ground "Even if you defeat me and my father, more will take our place. Our master will not rest until the age of Olympus is destroyed, and the gods along with it."

"You underestimate our resolve old friend," My mother growled "We will prevail, as we always have."

My mother raised her blade and I did the same, bringing them down together, and stabbing Orion. He screamed in pain before his body dissolved into a black puddle, and then his screams stopped. I quickly turned to look for Tartarus, just as he materialized a few feet in front of us.

"Very good," Tartarus said "You're skilled to have killed him, son of Artemis. Now come, come and face your death, blade to blade."

"Mom," I said "Free the other gods, get Amber, and leave."

"No," My mother said "We will help you def-"

"No," I said "This is my fight, between me and him, one on one."

"But-" She started again

"Go," I said forcefully "Free the others and get out of here."

"I-" She started to protest again, but then thought better of it "As you wish, good luck, my son."

She backed away and went to free the other gods, while I advanced on Tartarus. Both of us had our weapons at the ready, and I moved in without hesitation. We stood mere feet apart, each of us waiting for the other one to make a move.

"First," He said, extending his hand "To make sure your friends can't interfere, you will live or die on your own, boy."

A massive bubble formed around us, and I knew exactly what it was. It was a shield, of sorts, meant to keep us inside and the others outside, so that Tartarus and I would be in a true one on one battle, only ending when one of us had been destroyed.

"My master may not return on this day, thanks to your meddling," He said, indicating to my mother, who had already freed four gods "But I will settle for killing the son of moon, and my master will rise another day, and together, we will destroy Olympus."

"I won't let that happen," I said, raising my sword "I _can't _let that happen. I will defeat you here today, and I will defeat your master, you can count on it."

"To the death then." Tartarus said, also raising his sword

"To the death." I agreed

We both charged and our blades crossed in the air, clanging off of eachother. He struck, I ducked, I struck, he parried, I blocked, we fought like wild animals over a scrap of meat. I blasted beams of silver light at him, but few found their mark. He swung his blade and I hopped back, deflecting it as I did so. I rushed in, swinging for his neck, but he blocked the strike and backed away, putting distance between us.

"I give you one last chance, son of Artemis," He said "Join me, or die, your choice."

"I'll give you one last chance," I told him "Put your weapon down now, and we will leave without destroying you, then go crawl your ass back into whatever fucking hole you came out of, and stay there."

"So be it." Tartarus said, dropping the barrier

I looked back to see my mother and the other gods fleeing, my mother supporting Amber. Tartarus threw his sword like a spear, and I realized a second too late what he was doing. It whipped through the air faster than I could shout a warning, right into the center of Amber's back.

"NOOOOO!" I roared as she stood up in shock

Tartarus's blade left her back and flew back to his hand in an instant. Amber fell to her knees and my mother laid her on her back, frantically calling for Apollo. I turned back to Tartarus, who raised his sword in preparation. I felt warm again, but this time it was like searing heat. All of my senses sharpened, and I suddenly knew every move Tartarus was going to make, I was strategizing at a million miles a second, analyzing and making up plans in my head.

"You killed her," I said, my voice in a low tone, which is how you knew when I was very dangerously angry "You killed her."

"Don't worry, you'll be with her soon enough." Tartarus laughed

"YOU BASTARD!" I screamed in rage "I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!"

I ran at him, swinging my sword. He barely blocked it in time and I went on full offense, swinging and slashing and stabbing and hacking at any opportunity I had. I was in a blind rage, I had no idea what I was doing, who I was attacking, all I knew for sure is that he had killed Amber, and now he would pay. I kicked him backwards and sent a blast of silver light at him, striking him directly in the face. I threw my sword to the side and sent another one, and then another one, and then another one, advancing one step with every one until I stood in front of Tartarus, blasting silver light at him as he tried to dodge.

"FUCK YOU!" I roared, blasting him again

Tartarus jumped up and grabbed my hands, and we pushed at eachother, his own dark energy clashing with mine. I looked around and realized that silver light was coming off my body, literally flying around us, and Tartarus had black energy swirling around him, clashing with mine. I put my foot to his gut and forced him back, charging a ball of light in my hand. We stood face to face, nearly nose to nose, for only a split second.

"This isn't the end, boy," He growled defiantly "You won't like what you find down the road."

"Go to hell." I growled, slamming the ball of light into him with all my strength

It was the size of a couch, and I knew it packed a ton of energy, everything I had left to give. It connected full force and I heard Tartarus scream in anger, and then the dark presence was gone. I could no longer feel him, no longer sense his energy, I had done it, I had defeated him.

"Raven!" I heard my mother yell

"I did it, Mom," I whispered as I fell "I did it."

And then I lost consciousness, and everything went dark.

**Hey ya'll, who is pissed? All of you? Okay calm down, I be dodging pitchforks all day I swear, lol. Anyways, sorry if you shipped Raven and Amber, I know you guys really want me dead, but shit happens. Who knows, maybe they'll be together in Elysium. Anyways, read and review and all that, God bless.**


	14. Just the beginning

**Hey guys, thank you all for tuning in for the final chapter. Once again at this point only SlayorOfLadon and Rhino12345 are the only two reviews. So shout out to ya'll. And to all the people who favorited and followed the story, I can't name you guys individually, but you know who you are.**

Chapter 14: Just the beginning

Artemis:

I ran from Amber's side, knowing my brother would take care of her. She was alive, but barely, she was hanging on the edge and Apollo was doing everything he could to bring her back. Tartarus's blade had missed her heart but half an inch, but we all knew that his sword wasn't a normal sword. Her wound had begun turning black and the veins around it were slightly tinted purple. I ran to Raven's side and caught him just as he fell to the ground, his body overheated.

"Raven," I said, shaking him "Raven!"

He didn't move, but he did groan, which let me know he was alive. I took a quick look around, not spotting Tartarus anywhere. He had done it, he had actually done it. Raven had defeated Tartarus, he had done what we all doubted, at one point or another, that he could do. I picked him up and leaned him against me, and dragged him towards the other gods, who were waiting on us. I stopped on the way and picked up his sword, turning it into a lighter and pocketing it.

"Is he going to live?" My father asked Apollo as I drew close

"I can't be sure," He said, feeling Raven's forehead "His body is very overheated, he exerted a lot of energy, it's possible he might've died from exhaustion."

"Apollo!" I exclaimed as we began our way down

"Sorry," He said "Just being truthful. I'll give him some ambrosia when he cools down and he'll be fine."

Annabeth and Frank were quiet, and I couldn't really blame them. It had been quite an ordeal, for everybody. We reached the bottom of the mountain where the rest of the demigods were finishing up. Cultists and spiders scattered in all directions the second we appeared. Ares, with a battle cry, dove after them, killing most before they could get away. Arachne turned and ran faster than anybody else at the sight of Athena, who let her go, with a victorious smile. The son of Hephaestus, Leo, blocked Narcissus's sword and smashed his hammer against his temple, killing him instantly.

"Where are you going?" Ares boomed at the retreating monsters "I just got here!"

"Ares!" Zeus said "Let them go, we must leave this place at once!"

"Ugh," Ares complained "I never get to have any fun."

"Damn, what happened to this nigga?" A familiar voice said

Resurrected gang members piled all around us, and most of them seemed to recognize Raven. I recognized a few boys from Raven's memories that had been shown, but two stood out the most, Free and Money.

"He stopped Tartarus," I said "But he's hurt, badly."

"I will send you all back to the Underworld," Hades said "Where you will all be sent to Elysium for the parts you have played here today when you answered the son of Artemis's call."

"Wait a moment," Aphrodite said "This might as well be done now, while we're here, I'm sorry, Lamar."

"What now?" Free asked, backing up

A pink glow surrounded him for a moment, and then faded. Free's clothes had been changed, drastically. He now wore a white shirt, a clean pair of jeans, a fresh pair of shoes, and a small trim on his hair. He looked confused, as did everyone else, but I knew what had just happened.

"I should have claimed you sooner," Aphrodite told him "But I kind of forgot."

"Forgot?" Free demanded "What about Strap? You forget about him too?"

"Quite frankly, yes," Aphrodite said, not catching onto his anger "I forgot about you and Thomas both, I tend to get busy. I had another daughter, who wanted a child, and so I gave you and Thomas both to her, just a few years apart."

"Un fucking believable," Free muttered "My mother is the biggest thot in the world."

"Well as long as we're claiming our kids we forgot about," Hermes said "Hector, Franklin, Martin, Will, I am also sorry."

"What the hell ese?" Money demanded as a green caduceus appeared over several of the boys heads, including his "Where you been homie? What about Diego? He knows about this shit?"

"Your mother sent Diego to camp a few years ago," Hermes said "It wasn't time for you yet."

"Ya'll some poor excuses for parents." Money muttered

"Enough," Zeus said "We must leave, now."

"I will escort them to Elysium," Hades said, opening a small portal "I will meet you back on Olympus brother, we still have business to discuss."

"Indeed we do." Zeus said as Hades stepped through

Hestia opened up another portal and we all stepped through, and I inhaled a breath of relief as I breathed the cool Olympus air.

Raven:

What?" I muttered, coming to

I opened my eyes and realized I was on a couch, an old, dusty couch. I pushed myself up and looked around, realizing I was in my apartment, or at least, the way it used to be, before Dad died and I just lived there on my own.

"Glad you're here," A voice said from behind me "I've been wanting to talk to you, but you've never really been unconscious long enough for me to make the connection."

I jumped off the couch and pulled my lighter out, flicking it. It grew into my sword just as I stuck it right to the throat of a man sitting in a chair, holding a beer in his hand. It took me a moment to realize that I was putting a sword to my father's throat, and he raised his eyebrows at me, the way he used to when I was a little kid and I would surprise him.

"Easy now," He said, not moving "I'm friendly, son."

"Yeah," I said, letting it go back into a lighter "Sorry, bit jumpy I guess."

"I know the feeling, PTSD remember?" Dad joked

"Yeah," I said, sitting down "Am I-"

"Dead?" Dad asked "Nah, I don't think so anyways. That was a crazy stunt you pulled out there, throwing all of your energy into that ball."

"Did it work?" I asked him

"Damn straight it did," He laughed "I watched it from here."

He nodded to a TV in the corner of the room, and I found myself wondering how exactly they televised our quest throughout the Underworld, but I decided I would avoid the headache and just not ask, always saved me the trouble of looking for Advil.

"Whole Underworld watched it," Dad said "The Furies even stopped their work in the fields of punishment to see it, you're a hero buddy."

"Amber," I said, everything suddenly rushing back to me "Tartarus, he killed her."

"No," Dad said "Apollo got to her before the poison could spread to her heart, don't worry, she'll be fine."

"So what am I doing here then?" I asked, feeling like the weight of the world was just taken from my shoulders

"Well," Dad said, pulling a beer from the cooler at his feet and tossing it to me "I figured maybe we could have a beer together, talk, catch up, all those things we never really got to do."

"Dad, I'm sorry," I said, taking the beer "I'm sorry for everything, for hating you, not coming to your funeral, not visiting you in jail, everything."

"Don't worry about it," He said, sipping his beer "Turns out, our doorman was a son of Hermes, your mother put him up to keeping an eye on us the night she brought you to me. I know how you felt, and I could've been a better father to you when I was alive. I was always working, or sleeping, or drinking."

"I thought you killed her," I said, taking a drink "I thought you killed Mom, and I hated you for it."

"I know you did," He said "I would have hated me too."

"I destroyed Orion," I said "Mom and I did, together."

"I know," Dad said "You have no idea how satisfying it was to watch you get the bastard that killed me, I took pride every time you cut him, or you punched him, or kicked him, or inflicted damage on him in any way."

"I did too," I admitted "It felt good, just to put my hands on him."

"Our time is running short," Dad said "Listen son, this isn't over, this whole thing is only beginning. You, Eli, Antonio, you'll be the greatest heroes ever known."

"Who is Eli?" I asked "And who is Antonio?"

"Look," Dad said "All in due time, alright? Don't mention this to your mother, she'd kill me all over again if she knew I told you what I just did. Now, I have one last bit of information for you, to sort of make up for everything."

"And what's that?" I asked him

"Tony," He said "The guy that got your friends killed, he's in Flat Junction."

"I know that," I said "His girlfriend told us that, we just don't know exactly where."

"The apartment building down the road from ours," He said "Room 4B, he always gets home around eleven or so, and he lives alone on that floor."

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked him "You want me to kill him?"

"What I want," Dad said "Is for you to make your own choices, and never doubt yourself. You know where he is, either kill him, or let it go and continue your life."

"I want him dead," I said "But I just don't know."

"Give it some thought," Dad said "When you make up your mind, you have the information you need."

"Thanks," I said, standing up "For everything."

"Don't worry about it," He said, standing and giving me a hug "Watch your back, there's a lot of people out to get you after this."

"I'll be ready." I said as we broke apart

"I know you will," He said as everything began to go dark "I know you will."

Amber:

When Raven and I woke up, we were in the infirmary back at camp. I came to first, moving my head with a lot of effort. The first thing I noticed was Percy and Jason in the beds across from us, Apollo, Artemis, Chiron, Thalia, and Annabeth stood in the doorway. I groaned as I pushed myself to a sitting position, causing everybody to turn towards me. Thalia and Artemis instantly rushed to my side, pushing me back down as I tried to rise.

"Stay down," Thalia told me "You're hurt bad."

"Yeah," I grunted "I can feel that."

"Tartarus' sword cut deep," Lady Artemis said "If it wasn't for Apollo, both of you would most likely be dead."

"I'm glad to not be," I said "What about Raven?"

"Overheated, exhausted, beat all to hell," Thalia said "But he's alive."

"He looks like he's seen better days." I nodded, looking over at him

He was incredibly pale, with scrapes, cuts, and bruises all over his face. His breathing looked steady but there was an unhealthy wheezing sound every now and then. His long, dark hair was matted with sweat, blood, grime, and other things he'd picked up from Tartarus, and I noticed a freshly bandaged wound across his chest, probably where Orion had cut him.

"I never thought it," Chiron said "No demigod has ever been able to manipulate the Mist inside the depths of Tartarus, actually very few have even been."

"Raven is extremely powerful," Apollo said, looking exhausted "Even by demigod standards, that's why we voted on his death. Eventually, he'll be trained, he'll hone the use of his powers, and if he so chooses he could destroy the age of Olympus and watch the world burn away."

"He's just one demigod," Annabeth interjected "You're gods, you'd be able to stop him."

"I'm afraid we wouldn't be," Apollo said "You remember, one demigod can change the fate of the entire world. Raven will be the most powerful demigod in history, powerful enough to destroy immortals."

"How is that even possible?" I asked, looking down at Raven and feeling a small sense of fear

"Eventually we would reform," Apollo said dismissively "But if he destroys us once, he'll do it again."

"_If_, Apollo," Artemis said protectively "You're assuming he'll side against us."

"I'm just saying." Apollo shrugged

A small groan sounded from Raven as his eyes fluttered open. Everybody stopped speaking and looked at him, almost holding their breaths. He looked around sluggishly, unable to get his bearings right. Finally, he tried sitting up, but Lady Artemis pushed him back down.

"Stay," She commanded "You're hurt."

"Am I breathing?" Raven asked, raising his eyebrow "Do I have a heartbeat? Then I'm fine."

Lady Artemis tried to stop him but he pushed her away and sat up completely, crying out as he did so. His face paled from the movement and he reached over a grabbed the trashcan next to the bed, filling the room with retching sounds as he puked into the bin.

"Alright," He agreed, wiping his face and laying back down "Not fine."

"How do you feel?" Chiron asked him, scooting a bit closer to check his fever

"Like I looked both ways before I crossed the street then got hit by a fucking plane." He coughed, trying for a comical grin

"What you did back there was really stupid," Annabeth chided him "You could've gotten yourself killed."

"But I didn't," Raven shrugged "We're all alive, I'd chalk this one up as a win."

He didn't say it, but he didn't have to. We weren't all alive, Jennifer was dead, slain just as the prophecy had said. I didn't know what had become of her remains, I knew Thalia had grabbed the flower, but I didn't know what she had done with it. But Raven was right, the world was safe, we were safe, you couldn't ask for much more.

Gods, you are just like Percy," Annabeth grumbled "Yeah I went missing and gave everybody a heart attack but I'm here now, let's go."

"You're still pissed about that?" I heard Percy's shaky voice from behind us "I thought it was water under the bridge."

Annabeth, Chiron, and Thalia turned to check on Percy and Jason, who was still asleep. Lady Artemis and Apollo stayed by Raven and I, I could see her eyes darting back and forth between the two of us, an entire lecture going unspoken on her lips. I had joined the hunt so long ago, fought in so many battles, but just like I told Raven, all Hunters eventually fall.

"Happy birthday." She finally said, looking at Raven

"It's your birthday?" I asked him

"July twenty first?" He asked, seeing Apollo nod "Well shit, I guess it is."

"Why didn't you say anything?" I demanded

He muttered something about not wanting to make a big deal and possibly not even seeing his next birthday. Lady Artemis smiled and excused herself, coming back a few minutes later with a small, furry creature in her hand. It was a moment before I noticed it was a wolf, or a wolf pup. It was beautiful, with bright, piercing blue eyes and snow white fur. She laid it down on Raven's cot, letting it get used to the new owner. She sniffed Raven cautiously before planting a kiss on his nose.

"You didn't have to get me anything?" He told her

"I got you a lesson." She said as a matter of factly

"How do you figure?" Raven asked

"Maybe a pet will teach you responsibility," She shrugged "And this isn't just your ordinary run of the mill wolf, it's one of mine, there isn't a better hunting dog in the world, whenever she gets bigger that is."

"What are you going to name her?" I asked him, reaching over to scratch her behind the ears

"Name it something cool," Apollo said excitedly "Like Shredder or Apollo."

"It's a girl." Raven told him

Raven looked around the room for a moment before spotting something, making him perk up a bit. I followed his gaze and saw an empty cup of jello sitting on the counter next to the medical supplies, and that's how the legendary son of Artemis named his dog.

"Jello," He decided "I'm gonna call her Jello, and fuck you, Apollo. I see you giving me that look, I knew a cat named Tuna and I can name my dog Jello."

Jello seemed happy with her new name. She panted excitedly, wagging her tail back and forth, turning in a quick circle before laying down by Raven's leg, curling up to go to sleep. A bit of time passed before Lady Artemis headed back to the cabin to gather the Hunt. As I was preparing to leave with her, something held me back, Raven and I had things to talk about.

"I knew this was coming," He said, almost sensing what I wanted before I even sat down "Can I throw in my two cents first?"

"Shoot." I said, nodding

"Well, you're a hell of a kisser," He said, keeping his voice down so we didn't wake Jason "I'd do it again, but I'm not sure about what type of feelings I have."

"I could second that," I agreed "Raven, I've been a Hunter since the eighties, I'm old enough to be your mother."

"But you look old enough to be my fuck buddy," He joked, grimacing as I punched his arm "Alright, kidding, kidding. Besides, _my _mother is four thousand some odd years old."

"That's beside the point, I don't know if I want to give this up," I told him "I'm in for a reason."

"I understand," Raven nodded "Does that mean-"

"I'm staying with the Hunt," I confirmed "Whatever you and I had, I want no part of it."

"Fair enough," He shrugged "After all you are like nineteen, technically, I could have you arrested."

"For what?" I demanded

"Pedophilia," He laughed "I just turned sixteen."

"I was seventeen when I joined numb nuts," I said, grinning despite myself "Besides, who do you think they'll believe? Me, a trustworthy looking young woman, or you, a two timing, no good, dirty, rotten, gang banger?"

"Why not?" He laughed "They believed me when I said I was just heading home."

"What were you actually doing?" I asked, curious

"Going home," He said slyly "With drugs, and alcohol, and cigarettes, and an illegal, unmarked weapon."

I laughed and rose to my feet, grabbing my bow and arrows from the bedside as I did so. Raven and I said our goodbyes and I walked out of the infirmary and into Camp Half-Blood, headed towards the Artemis cabin.

Raven: Later that night

I gripped my gun tight in my hand, preparing. I hadn't pulled my mask over my face, but I didn't need it, I wouldn't be leaving a witness. I felt the cool metal of the gun in my hand, and I had a slight feeling of nostalgia of back in the day, kicking doors, shootouts with Bloods in the middle of a hallway or a street, my old life, the old me.

I tugged nervously at the collar of my shirt, feeling the necklace I'd found on my pillow when I had returned to Artemis cabin. It was a thin, black cord with a single, small, silver bead with a black crescent moon on it, symbolizing the summer when the son of Artemis was claimed. I had been told that campers were given a bead at the end of each summer, but it hadn't really seemed real until I'd come back to my cabin and found it, I hadn't truly felt welcome or at home at Camp Half-Blood until then, my old life was gone, the old me was gone, so why the hell was I here?

I thought about knocking, but I didn't want to give myself away, so I tried the doorknob. It was locked, as I had expected it to be, so I went with plan B. I backed up a few feet, and kicked the door as hard as I could.

"What the hell?" Somebody yelled from inside

I heard a gun cock and I rushed in, tackling somebody as they came out of the kitchen. I knew we would make noise, so I had to do the job quickly. Tony tried to squeeze the trigger, but I slammed his wrist into the wall, knocking the gun from his hand. Tony was twenty four, but he wasn't much bigger than I was, which was good because I might've been fucked otherwise.

"Remember me motherfucker?" I asked, throwing him into the living room

"Joker," He spat "I knew they'd send you after me, that's why I kept a strap on me. But I guess it won't do me much good now, will it?"

"Not really," I said, advancing on him "Why'd you do it? Why'd you sell us out?"

"I'm a cop man, it's what I do," He said "I infiltrate gangs, I bring down the top dogs."

"You didn't bring anybody down!" I shouted at him "You got four kids killed for trying to make some fucking money!"

"Drug dealing is illegal, Joker," Tony said "You guys are the ones who fired first, don't get on me for this shit. I didn't bring anybody down because I didn't get a chance to meet Boss in person before I was discovered."

"We wouldn't have had to shoot first if you didn't rat us out." I growled, grabbing him by the neck and throwing him on the couch

"I told you, I'm a cop," He said "Now, let me tell you how this is going to go down. Boss sent you to kill me, so you will. Then you're going to be arrested for murdering a cop, and then you'll be tried for the eight other murders you've committed, plus evading the law, plus that drug deal, you'll be going away for a long time."

"I'm not here on Boss's orders," I told him "I'm here of my own accord. How do you know all of that? Why haven't I been arrested for it yet?"

"Because I'm giving you a chance," Tony said "Nobody else has seen the files on you, except for me. You drop that gun, you get me Boss, and I will personally make sure that the confessions I have on you never see the light of day."

"What's to stop me from killing you and just taking it?" I asked him

"Nothing," He said "I know you're a decent kid, man, this isn't the life for you, you never wanted this."

"No, I didn't," I said "But regardless, it's my life, I'm a Crip, no way around it."

"You don't have to be." He said

"Why here?" I demanded "If you're a cop, why hide here?"

"Because," He explained "I'm trying to get informants inside Flat Junction, but nobody wants to turn on Boss."

"That's because we're loyal to our families," I said "This gang is our family, because the majority of us don't have one, and because of you, four of my brothers got killed."

"And you guys tortured my girlfriend to get information on me," Tony said "She's pretty messed up, she broke up with me, told me she couldn't take it. Went and got herself a new guy too, nice guy, a lawyer, if you could believe it."

"I'm not here to talk about your girlfriend or your relationship problems." I spat

"Yeah, I know," Tony said "You're here to kill me."

"Damn right," I said "I won't take your offer, I'm going to kill you, and I'm going to destroy whatever you have on me, and I'm leaving Flat Junction."

"If you were going to kill me, you'd have done it already," Tony said "Wherever it is you've been for the past few months, you've lost your edge."

"No, I haven't," I said, putting the gun to his skull "I just wanted some answers."

"And now you have them, so pull the trigger." He said, a small grin playing at his lips

I hesitated, which is exactly what Tony had wanted. He was playing me, knowing the inner battle I had. One half screaming at me to just walk away and the other half screaming for me to pull the trigger and put his brains on the wall. I thought about Amber, Percy, my mother, the Hunters, they were my family now, this wasn't my life anymore.

"Come on, Raven," He said, attempting to rise "Just let me-"

"Sit the fuck down!" I yelled, pushing him back "I swear I'm-"

"You'll what?" He demanded, pushing me back and rising to his full height, towering over me "I've tried to help you, dude. I've kept these motherfuckers off of my ass for months, telling them I had nothing on you, because I knew you had some common sense, I knew you'd make the right choice, or so I thought. Take the deal, because if not, I'm gonna remember you."

"I'll never betray my family," I spat, refusing to back down "Boss has his moments, but he's looked after me and taken care of me, probably the closest thing I've got to a father."

"Free and Money thought the same," He said "Look where that ended them up."

I snapped, squeezing the trigger as Tony attempted to step closer to me. The first shot struck him in the chest, making him fall back onto the couch. He looked up at me, a large, red stain beginning to form on his shirt.

"Dammit, Joker," He coughed, grimacing as he spoke "What's wrong with you?"

"Not a fucking thing," I growled, raising the gun again "Have fun remembering me with a hole in your head."

I squeezed the trigger again, hitting him in the head. I pulled the trigger again and again and again until my gun was empty. He slumped over, jerking slightly each time a bullet found it's mark.

"Somebody call the police!" I heard somebody yell from downstairs "I heard gunshots!"

I only had a few minutes, and I had to move fast. I bolted into the kitchen and back to Tony's bedroom, looking around for anything that might hold files. Sure enough, there was a safe in the corner of the room. I put another clip in and shot the lock on the door a few times, and it popped open. Inside, there were stacks of files with names labeled. I opened it up the one with my name on it, nearly a hundred papers with handwritten confessions about the things I had done, not even signed. I let my hand blaze with silver light, and I blasted the safe, incinerating everything inside of it.

"Upstairs!" I heard a woman yell "I just heard more!"

The cops were here already? That was fast, they usually don't get down here that fast. I ran into the living room, sending a silent prayer to my mother than what I had destroyed was the only files Tony had, I'd be fucked if they had anything else. I stepped over Tony's body and threw the window open, stepping out onto the fire escape and sliding down the ladder. I got to the concrete just as frantic yelling sounded from inside Tony's apartment.

"The window!" Somebody yelled "That window is open, the shooter can't be far!"

I bolted from the scene as quick as I could, dipping back into Flat Junction Crip turf, hoping I wasn't seen. I realized I needed to get off the street for a minute, and Thalia was too far away for me to break straight for her. Only a block, but there were police cars between me and her, I'd have to wait until they moved. I looked around and realized I was standing in Free's front yard, the yard that we had sat in front of so many times, smoking, listening to music, talking about getting out of the hood. I approached the door, not entirely aware of what I was doing. I knocked, and a light came on an instant later, and then Free's mother opened the door.

"Raven?" She asked in shock "What are you doing here?"

"I was running from the cops, found myself over here." I explained

"You can't stay here if you've got cops on you, you know my rules," She said "Wait a second, did you have anything to do with those gunshots I just heard."

"Tony," I told her "I just killed Tony."

"You what?" She asked me

"That's what those gunshots were," I told her "That apartment across the street, he was staying there, I went in-"

"And killed him," She finished, pulling me into a hug "Thank you, Raven, thank you."

"Free and Money would've done it for me," I told her "But I do have something else I want to talk to you about."

"What's that?" She asked

"You're a demigod," I told her "So was Free, so was Money, so am I."

She paused for a moment, and I debated smiling and telling her I was joking, but I knew that she knew exactly what I was talking about. She drummed her fingers nervously on the door frame before she spoke again.

"Lamar wasn't my actual son," She said "He was a son of Aphrodite, I'm a daughter of Aphrodite. I've always wanted a child, but I'm fertile, so my mother gave me one after Lamar's father was killed in the war. I didn't want this life for him, in fact there was so many times I wanted to yell at him and Thomas both for being stupid, but I didn't, because it was my fault they were the way they were. I didn't leave this place when I was given the chance, even though I should have."

"Free fought with me," I told her "Him and Money both, it started a couple months ago-"

I launched into the story of what I had been up to since I left Flat Junction, running from that Manticore, arriving at camp, my trial, the gods getting taken, our quest, everything.

"A son of Artemis," She said in disbelief "I never thought I'd see the day, I never even thought I'd hear about the day."

"Well, it's true," I told her "Look, I have to leave now, but I'll come back periodically. You should come back to camp, there's nothing left for you here anymore."

"That's not true," She said, pointing down the block "Teresa just had the baby, a beautiful baby girl."

"Watch over that baby then," I told her "Don't let it do the shit we did."

"Believe me, I won't," She laughed "You should go and see Maria and Diego too, and Teresa, I'm sure they'd all want to know..."

"Yeah," I said "I will."

She pulled me into one last hug before closing the door and leaving me alone. I turned away and walked down the street to where Money's house was, the place I had slept more than in my own house. There was an old, rusted, iron fence out front, fencing in a yard entirely made of dirt with no grass, leading the front porch, which was made out of concrete, and finally to the house. It was smaller than a seven eleven, but it felt more like home than anywhere else I'd ever been. Money's mother gave me a place to sleep more nights than not, and fed me like I was her own kid, I was forever in her debt. I knocked on the door and heard footsteps, and Diego answered the door a moment later.

"Holy shit," He said "Joker, it's been a little bit man."

"For sure," I said "Can I come in? I need to talk to you and Maria."

"Sure thing ese, come on in." Diego said, ushering me inside

I stepped into the doorway while Diego closed the door behind me, and I looked around. It was exactly how it had been the last time I had been here, the morning of that drug deal. An old TV was sitting in the corner of a living room that was empty except for an old couch and a couple lawn chairs, and then the kitchen was a mess of recycled and restored appliances and an old, rickety table. Maria was sitting at the table, a cup of coffee in her hands, staring down at a scrap book. She looked up at me, almost as if she didn't recognize me. I looked down at the scrapbook, taking in all the pictures. Baby pictures of Money, and old picture of the three of us, holding up Crip signs in front of Money's El Camino, a picture of Diego and Money when they were little.

"Raven," Maria said "Is that you?"

"Yeah," I laughed "Know anybody else with silver eyes?"

She got up and gave me a hug, pulling me in tight. I knew how she had felt after Money died, having your son ripped away from you like that was painful for anybody. She always treated me like her son, and I knew the reaction wouldn't have been any different if it had been me killed instead of Money.

"First, let me reintroduce myself to you," I told them "Raven Mark Alistair, son of Artemis."

"Artemis?" Diego and Maria said at the same time

"I also know," I said, turning to Diego "That you and Money were both sons of Hermes."

"You talked to Dad?" Diego asked

I told them the same story I had told Free's mother, and I got about the same reaction from them as I had gotten from her, pure disbelief. Diego couldn't believe it when I told him I had fought Tartarus, the idea just blew his mind away.

"And now," I said "The reason I'm here. Tony's dead, I killed him a little bit ago."

"You got him?" Diego asked "You actually got him? Is that what those gunshots we heard were? Where was he?"

"Down the block," I told him "That apartment complex with barely anybody living in it, he was trying to get informants in Flat Junction."

"You finally got him," Diego muttered, sitting down "You finally got that bastard."

"Raven," Maria said "Why did you kill him?"

"Because, he got Free and Money killed," I said "They would've done the same for me, why wouldn't I do it for them?"

"Becuase, killing Tony wouldn't have brought you back," She said "Just like killing him now won't bring back Lamar or Hector."

"It makes us feel better about the whole situation if anything," Diego said "Closure, that's what I call it. Thanks, Joker, for everything."

"Another thing," I said, turning to Maria again "Money never went to Camp Half-Blood, but Diego has, why?"

"I was going to send them both at once," She said "But Hermes came to me and said wait for Hector to get older before sending him, and that he would come and tell me when the time was right, but he never came back."

"Sounds like Hermes." I said

"Speaking of camp," Diego said "Tell Chiron I'll be coming back next summer, I've done two tours as a Marine and I think I'm done. I'm handing in my papers and I'll be back to live at the camp full time and help out with everything."

"I will," I said, walking to the door and opening it "Take care of yourself."

"I'm supposed to say that to you." Diego laughed as I shut the door

I had one more stop to make, the one I was looking forward to the least, mostly because Teresa's father was a cop, and hated Crips with a passion, especially once her daughter had started dating one, and even more so when he had knocked her up. I arrived at their house, and prayed Derrick wouldn't answer the door, then I knocked. Teresa's mother answered the door, and smiled warmly. She had always been kinder to us, knowing that we only did what we had to do to keep ourselves from going out in a casket, and always treated us like her family.

"Raven," She said, hugging me "It's been a long time, come in, Teresa's just inside."

I walked inside and headed to the living room, where Teresa was sitting on a couch, rocking a baby to sleep. She smiled when she saw me and stood, crossing the room to me. I hadn't seen her in so long, and I wandered if she might hate me for what happened, but she didn't.

"Hi," She said softly, getting close so we could talk without her mother hearing "I'm assuming-"

I had promised her that I wouldn't come back to her again until Tony was dead, and that I wouldn't let him get away with it. Teresa was no stranger to hearing about murder, she heard it from her father all the time, but to be hanging out with, and even dating one of us, guys that had actually killed people and walked free, it was a totally different level.

"He's dead," I whispered back "That's what those gunshots a minute ago were, I got him."

"I had hoped you wouldn't actually do it," She said "I was kind of hoping you'd just turn around and walk away realizing it wouldn't bring them back."

"Too late." I said

She handed me her sleeping baby, so I took it. It was a beautiful baby girl, dark skin, brown eyes, Free's nose, his ears. I realized with a start, that this was a grandchild of Aphrodite. She twitched her nose a bit every now and then just like Free had used to do, just like Amber did. This was Amber's niece, which made her my-nope, don't think, headache.

"Her name is Kaylee Raven Rodriguez Taylor." Teresa said, smiling

She had named her after me, Money, and Free. I wasn't sure why she had thrown me in there, but then again, nobody seemed to leave me out of the fold when it came to Free and Money. The three of us did everything together, and it was rare to see one of us not closely followed by the other two.

"Listen," I said, handing her back the baby "I can't stay long, I have to go, but I'll try to come back every once in a while."

"Where will you go?" Teresa's mother asked me

"I have-" I paused, looking for the right word "Some friends, I'll be fine."

"Be safe," Teresa said, kissing my cheek "Or at least try to."

"I will," I laughed "Don't worry."

I left the house and headed around the block, peeking. The cop cars were still there, and so were a few FBI vans, but I was far enough away I could slip around them and they wouldn't see me. Thalia was parked in the Taco Bell across the train tracks, so I knew she had seen the cops pull up, but she must not have seen me dash off, because she didn't immediately come after me. Or maybe she was just smart and knew that might get her pulled over and arrested on suspicion of murder.

"Did you do it?" Thalia asked the second I got in "I heard gunshots and I see cop cars, so I'm assuming you did."

Thalia knew I had done it, but she just wanted confirmation. She wanted to hear it from me, she had just driven me to a murder scene, where I was the killer. We had borrowed Percy's stepdad's car after assuring him there would be no pegasi on this trip, for some strange reason, but I hadn't told him where we were taking it or what we were doing.

I said nothing, which was all the confirmation that she needed. Without another word, Thalia pulled out of the parking lot, and headed up the street, and out of the south side of Brooklyn. I looked in the rear view mirror at the Flat Junction sign disappearing behind us, and for once, I didn't want to go back.

Eli:

I ran down the hill. Well, limped is more like it. I gripped my side where the hell hound had bitten me. Blood was soaking through my shirt. I was using my red Blood flag to stop the bleeding. But I could feel it starting to soak through. Lupa had told me to go to Camp Jupiter, so that's where I was heading. I had directions and I was almost there. I could see the tunnel and I could see two kids in purple shirts standing guard. They raised their weapons when they saw me.

"Hell hounds!" I yelled at them

They saw the hounds closing in behind me. Five of them. I limped as fast as I could. Lupa had given me eight celestial bronze bullets to fill my clip. And I'd already used all of them to take out the other hell hounds. But I didn't have enough. If only those stupid fucking Crips hadn't tried to start shit, I might've outran the hell hounds.

"Get in here." One of the kids said dragging me by my arm.

It was a girl. She looked at my clothes and frowned.

"Blood?" She asked me

"South side." I said nodding

She shook her head but didn't say anything. The hell hounds had stopped just across the street from the tunnel. They were growling and howling at me.

"Don't worry about them," The other kid said, another girl "Let's get you to the camp before you bleed out."

She grabbed my other arm and helped me move as fast as we could. I saw a small river, but it was flowing fast. I was sure we'd be swept away but I entered and didn't feel any resistance. Kids were now gathering on the other side of the river. I saw one girl in a purple cloak, she was clearly the leader as she was ordering medics to come help me. Three kids ran out into the surf to help me. The took me from the two girls and dragged me onto the shore. I collapsed on the dry land and the kids gathered around me.

"Give him some breathing room," The girl in the purple cloak ordered

"Get away from him." She stood over me and looked into my eyes. She had a sort of kindness, but she also had a hardness. She wouldn't tolerate weakness. Good thing I hadn't grown up to show weakness.

"My name is Reyna," She said "Do you know who you are?"

"My name is Eli Alistair," I said "Son of Diana."

**Hey guys. Before you flip shit on me, yes there will be a sequel. Keep an eye out for it. This entire story is all thanks to you, I wouldn't have finished the story if it wasn't for those of you who reviewed and favorited and followed. For reviews I want to give a shout out to Rhino12345 and SlayerOfLadon. For favoriting I want to give a shout out to Rhino12345, HayabusaDragonForce, Kitty Cat1098, and bigt571. And for followers I'd like to give a shout out to Andromeda StarK, HayabusaDragonForce, Kitty Cat1098, Rhino12345, Zae Marks, bigt571, ruiyingz123, spartane67. And the 1,230 views. I was checking it out earlier and I've got like so many views from the U.S and then like only one from a bunch of different countries. Thank you all, this is the final chapter, it is over. It's happily ever after for a few days. I'll start working on the first chapter to the next book soon. But keep an eye out for The Son Of The Huntress II: My brother or my colors. Once again, thank you, this is Just Somedude signing off.**


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